Author's note: Whoa, so this chapter took a really long time to figure out. But now its here so YAY! We're getting into the third act of the story now, and soon all will be revealed.

Ever had one where you went through the motions of getting out of bed, getting dressed and then suddenly, at some point, something really out of the ordinary happens that make you realize that you're in a dream?

But the thing about this dream, was the fact that it was not morning – but still in the middle of the night. The space beside me where Aro had slept was empty – the covers thrown aside. The sheets were just as pale-blue as he was in the dark. I looked around the bedroom, but did not see him anywhere. Instead of calling out, I swung my legs over the side of the bed and got up.

There was a robe at the foot of the bed that I put on before exiting the bedroom – I dont know what color it was – but it felt soft, warm. There were tiny white lights in the ceiling, like stars. The red furniture in the living room looked older, like they were made of something other than fabric – something that lived and breathed. Something that sang to me, no – it was a chorus of voices, moaning, caught in a neverending loop. They were trapped somewhere inside and I could not let them out. I couldn't.

Frightened, I looked away from them and called out into the dark for Aro. But he would not answer me, and he would not appear. But the stars above my head would not go away, and they were so quiet. It made me look towards the front door of his home – and to my surprise I found that it was open – the lit staircase beyond it shining yellow. My old music teacher was tuning the piano somewhere, his voice singing in words as bright as that light.

Oh pale yellow star, how near or how far...

I walked down the stairs – the stone cold underneath my bare feet. But my feet were lighter than air, and so I barely touched the ground. It went so fast, and sooner than I thought I was standing in the main hallway downstairs. The roof was almost caving in and I had to hurry in order to make it to the other end of it – to get to that door.

What door?

The door that the secretary just stepped through. The one that is hidden by a switch in the wall.

I found myself happy for knowing this, not questioning how I could possibly know that. I pressed a small stone in the wall inwards and a door opened, and beyond it was another set of stairs. At the end of those, I realized that it led straight to the throne room, where the head of the Volturi worked. But I had never been in the upper level of it, the one that overlooked the entire domed room from a small balcony. There was sand on the floor, getting in-between my toes. It was running like a waterfall down the side of the balcony, evapporating in the air.

There were other people around me now, but they did not seem to care that I was there at all. Faces unrecognizable – apart from their mouths, which were red like blood. They treated me like I was one of them, put a hand on my back or looked at me fondly. We were all looking down at the throne room, like the audience in front of a stage, waiting for a play to start. Everyone was smiling, laughing. Some of those around me were throwing flowers.

It's a lovely day.

Lovely, lovely, lovely, lovely….

No, please no.

I concentrated and looked down where the others were looking – and wished I hadn't. At the center, a girl – not much older than me, was held up by two men at either side of her. She was being torn apart,they were holding chains that were connected to her arms and legs. Her middle was slowly breaking, but she didn't scream. Her mouth moved, but no words would come. She looked resigned, without hope. Eyes glazed over and damp, beyond pain. I stared in horror as her skin parted, giving way to purple, then blue and finally – bright red and white – the fat of her belly showing for a split second before her stomach burst. I was frozen in place, unable to help her.

But that was not all there was.

Next to this was a large pile of bodies, hands and arms moving around – people half-dead. They made no sound, but their mouths moved, twitched. Some with their skin burned clean off, some with their mouth and eyes missing – entire faces scraped off. And still alive. I was sweating by this point, water filling my lungs so that I couldn't breathe. I managed to turn away from it all, but I couldn't close my eyes.

I don't want to see this, I don't want to see this.

I saw the stairs that would guide me back to safety, back to the darkness and the blue sheets and the stars that were so remote and peaceful. I was nearing the stairs when from behind me, I heard his voice. I heard it as if he has whispered it into my ear himself.

"What's this? Dear girl, why do you cry? Your death means only more life for us. Your flesh is weak, but your soul will live on. "

He was happy, rejoicing. His happiness was so total, so absolute – the screams and the sounds of tearing flesh making him laugh. I had never heard a laugh like that before. Not from him.

No. Aro wouldn't-he would never do that! He's not like that! This is just a dream!

It's real.

It's all me. All me. All in my head. I am this.

Time is running out.

I awoke with a gasp, my eyes opening wide as I quickly sat up in bed, breathing hard. In the harsh light of day, one could usually forget their nightmares. But this one followed me, their images burned into memory like it was something I had actually witnessed.

I was grasping the sheets around me in a deathgrip, my heart beating so fast I thought it would break. Without thinking, without even checking if Aro was still beside me, I got dressed and hurridly left the apartment.

I had to make sure.

It did not take long to reach the hallway and the wall at the end of it that forked into two pathways, one to the main entrance and one leading to the lower levels, and the library. But once I got there, I hesitated. I was afraid – so afraid now. It didn't matter that I probably looked crazy, staring fixedly at a stone wall, shivering like I had a fever.

My body, my heart, my everything was telling me, urging me to stop and turn back. Continue my existance without acknowledging anything bad ever again. That if I did this, I would not have any strength left to face the consequences. I'd burn up in the sunlight like I was made out of paper. Like I was worth nothing, nothing at all. You will fade away, just like you wanted.

But my voice of reason, and that wild thing inside me that thought about that young girl that haunted my dreams, the girl that always appeared mutliated, rotting,tortured, horrified yet silent. I am doing this for you. My hands began searching the cracks in the wall, pushing and prodding. In my dream, there had been a switch. I prayed to god that this wasn't so.

My hands felt nothing out of the ordinary and then- a jolt ran through me as my left hand, without much effort at all, pushed one of the stones inward with a quiet click. A noise escaped me, a whimper.

"Rebecca, what are you doing here? It's not a weekday."

I turned around fast, noticing for the first time that I was not alone. Helen was walking up to me in the hallway, sunlight streaming through her blonde hair. Looking as she always did, perfectly put together and fashionable. But now, I was looking at her in a different way. Noticing the way her eyes darted from me to the wall in front of me. Think of an excuse, and do it fast.

"Helen. I just came from the library – Aro told me I could borrow whatever I wanted." I said, trying to appear calm, normal. Willing my hands to stop shaking, and for my heart to slow down. She nodded at what I said, and looked convinced.

"Oh, well I'll see you around on monday then?" she asked cheerfully, smiling. I think I smiled back.

"Yes, see you then."

As I watched Helen walk away, I realized that I could not investigate further in broad daylight. Too many people around – I could nto risk any of the other volturi employees catching me. What would happen then, I did not know. I did not even know what I had to fear – apart from my nightmares. But I had a terrible feeling that the Volturi was not a normal company. I began wondering how much the secretaries knew, if they were all as ignorant as I was.

And then I realized that there was an easy way to find an answer to that. I just had to log into someone else's laptop in our office.

When I walked back to Aros apartment in order to fetch my handbag, I saw a handwritten note left on the bed on the space where he had slept. After staring at it for a second I picked it up and read it.

Rebecca,

I had to go away on business ( and did not wish to wake you up). Forgive me.

I will return in two days time, and hope that you will still be here when I get back. I like seeing you in my bed. There is so much I like about you.

A.

A warm feeling blossomed in my chest when I read it, but quickly faded as I remembered the dream. I could not think like that, not now. He was the first person that I'd ever loved. To think that he may have done really horrible things...

I pushed the thought from my mind, crumpling up the note. I had to find out more. Before I could decide what I would do next.