Title: Elisabeth: The Power to Resist
Author: Meissa6
Summary: One of the "newborns" in Victoria's army is a spy sent from Maria to scope out the Cullen family.
Disclaimer: I do not, nor will ever, own the Twilight Saga, or any of its characters and plots.
Where there is power, there is resistance.
Michel Foucault, 1978
I knelt on the ground after I had surrendered to the golden-eyed freaks. A newborn with brown hair was next to me, her eyes closed tightly.
I refused to play along with the Major's snarled commands, my eyes firmly on my surroundings. I attempted to mimic the newborn beside me, trying to at least act like the blood-thirsty newborn I was supposed to be.
It somewhat helped when the human we were supposed to kill came into the clearing. She smelled like flowers, and something sweet. Her eyes instantly latched onto mine.
I had found their biggest weakness.
My attention snapped to the redhead next to her, who was staring at me in shock and horror.
"Maria..." he whispered, low enough that the human would not hear.
Major suddenly spun around, moving too fast for me to jerk away as he grabbed me by my neck.
"She sent you." He hissed, glaring into my eyes.
I did nothing, said nothing. I had never had the pleasure of meeting the Major before he vanished, but I had heard tales of his infamous works. The 'God of War' was what he was known as.
Terror curled inside of me, and I wondered how much of it was mine, and how much he was pumping into me.
"Yes." I finally murmured, lowering my eyes.
Maria may be terrifying, but Major was a hundredfold more. Besides, he was the immediate threat.
"Jasper, we don't have time for this now." The small, pixie like girl spoke up.
My eyes flickered to her, and then away when Major growled.
"Fine. Don't move or say anything." He snapped at me, moving his hand from my throat to my wrist.
I knew that he would rip me to pieces within mere seconds if I thought to disobey.
The Volturi came not long after that, and I saw the way Jane looked at me with slight familiarity. She knew who I was. The fact that she hadn't made any notice of it before irritated me.
"Hmm... you missed one." She said, her eyes slipping past me to land on the newborn.
"She surrendered." The blonde leader spoke up.
"Did she surrender as well?" Jane asked, looking at me.
Despite the tightening of Major's hand on my wrist, I said, "As if."
By the jolt of fear that shot through me, I knew I was going to be punished when they left. Jane's lips twisted into a cold but detached smile.
"I assumed that was what you did best, Pet." She said, a mocking tinge to her otherwise bored voice.
I stiffened in fury, but she merely turned back to the newborn, her smile becoming more cruel. Instantly, the newborn dropped to the ground, shrieking in agony.
"You don't have to do that. She'll tell you anything you want to know." The blonde leader's mate said tightly, sounding like it was her that was being hurt.
I glanced at her, bemused that she would care what was happening to a stranger. She just gazed back at me, her strange golden eyes impossibly soft.
"I know." Jane said, and the screaming stopped. "What is your name?"
"B-Bree." The newborn gasped, curled up on the ground.
She flinched like she expected the pain to continue, and, after a moment, it did.
I watched as Bree's body contorted with the agony of Jane's mind fire. I almost felt bad for her, knowing myself how much it hurt.
"Who was your creator?" Jane demanded.
"I-I don't know. R-Riley never said her name." Bree stammered.
"Victoria." I muttered, and both of them looked at me.
"Hmm... how many were there?" Jane asked, her eyes staring into mine.
I saw the silent threat, and I knew what would happen should I reveal just what had happened in Seattle.
"Nineteen, including this one." I glanced at Bree, who flinched.
"Nineteen... impressive for a coven of this size." Jane murmured.
"We were lucky." The blonde leader spoke up.
"Apparently." Jane replied blankly and looked back at me. "Where is this Victoria?"
"She's dead." The redhead boy stated, motioning to a pillar of smoke coming from the north.
I stiffened as a sharp terror burst through me. I had failed. Maria was going to punish me, even kill me. Though death might be a welcome escape from what she would do to me.
The redhead looked at me. Major's hand tightened on my wrist.
"Hm..." Jane murmured, meeting my gaze.
There was a cold smugness in her eyes, and hatred surged up inside of me. She knew that this was going to happen. She knew what Maria was going to do to me.
She was talking, though, her eyes trailing to the large one at her side.
"Felix, take care of that. I want to go home."
He smiled and moved forward, past me, and towards the newborn.
My eyes remained on Jane. My body was tensed to lunge, Major's hand be damned. I wanted to kill the little witch that had set me up... that had set all of us up. Only then would I be satisfied walking to my impending death.
"Wait! We can take her in... we can teach her." The blonde leader's mate spoke up, and Felix paused.
Jane tilted her head, her eyes on my face.
"Some people cannot be taught. Nevertheless, the Volturi does not give second chances... which reminds me - Caius will be interested to hear that she is still human."
Her eyes flickered to the human pressed into the redhead's side.
A lapse in attention. I could kill her now... but her brother was still gazing at me, his red eyes slightly knowing as he took in my tensed stance. His mist would overtake my mind before I even stepped close to her.
My quick mind saw the battle in multiple scenes, but it all ended with my death and Jane's triumph. My fingers curled against Major's palm.
"The date is set." Major's mate said in her tinkling voice.
Jane ignored her, looking back at me, her face set in a bored mask. Her eyes shone with smugness.
"Close your eyes." The redhead whispered behind me, most likely to his human.
I didn't flinch at the sounds of Felix tearing Bree to pieces, not even blinking when the sweet scent of burning vampire flesh hit my nose. He was back in his position within seconds.
"It was nice to meet you, Carlisle. Aro sends his regards." Jane spoke without looking away from me.
The blonde leader merely nodded.
"Elisabeth." Jane said, her lips curling.
I wanted nothing more than to rip her to shreds.
"Jane." I muttered, my fury evident in my voice.
She smiled fully, her eyes boring into mine. I held her gaze, even as pure agony rushed through my body and mind. My legs collapsed underneath me, forcing me to my knees.
Major's hand nearly tore my arm off at the force in which I fell. I had seen lesser vampires go insane under her pain, and I understood why. It was like I was being burned into ashes without dying.
"Stop."
Surprisingly, the redhead's voice broke through the agony, and, even more surprising, the pain vanished at his command. I finally looked away, shame rushing through me.
"Expect us to be in touch." Jane murmured, but rather to me or the golden-eyes, I hadn't any idea.
Major silently pulled me back to my feet.
Then, as quickly as they came, the four Volturi guards were gone. I instantly jerked away from Major, flinching away when he began to come after me.
"Jasper, wait." The redhead spoke and looked at me. "We can help you. You don't have to go back to her."
I stared at him, utterly bemused why he would offer help to a stranger - a stranger sent to dig up his coven's weakness, no less.
Then again, they had offered to take in the newborn. Perhaps this was their way of being polite?
"You don't understand. She'll come after me; she will do worse to me."
A cold fear was curling in my still heart, and images flashed through my mind of those that had tried to run away. The redhead flinched.
"What if we sent you up north, to our cousins?"
I shook my head at the brunette mate of the coven's leader.
"She will find me no matter where I go."
"Surely not!" She responded, almost instinctively falling into a motherly role.
"We cannot allow you to leave. You're a risk to our coven's security, especially now that you know of Bella." The leader spoke, his golden eyes firm, yet somehow still gentle.
"She-" I broke off, my head turning to the south as if someone had called my name.
Major growled warningly, crouching down. I knew that he would pounce on me before I even managed to leave the clearing, and yet my mind was becoming fuzzy, my thoughts terrifyingly absent. I stared blankly into the forest, the pull echoing throughout my nearly empty mind.
A small part of me wondered if she thought I had betrayed her like Major had.
"What...?" The redhead murmured, staring at me.
I knew that if I dared to take even one step towards the call, Major would tear me to shreds, and yet, my entire being longed to run back to her - my sire, my only true friend in this life. She was the siren, and I was the foolish sailor who was caught in her call.
There was never really a choice to run. One moment, I was standing still, my attention captured, and the next, I was moving swiftly towards the trees.
"Jasper, don't kill her!" I heard his mate shout before Major was on my back, slamming me into the ground.
If I was human, I would've broken all of the bones in my body. Instinct told me to fight him, and I did so until I felt his fingers wrap firmly around my neck, his teeth touching just under my hairline. I stilled underneath him, the threat of death more prominent than Maria's call.
"She has a gift." The redhead said, obviously pulling the information from my mind. "Maria, I mean. It's a bit like hypnosis. She's currently calling Elisabeth to her."
Major didn't let up, and a part of me suspected that he had already known about this. That didn't mean that he wouldn't kill me to protect his coven.
I stayed silent, still, even with the call tearing at my mind, and even with Major's teeth almost piercing my neck.
"Son, let her up." I heard the leader say, and Major growled lowly, vibrating my skin and causing a fearful shudder to move down my spine.
A sudden lurch in the call, more insistent than before, caused me to jerk forward, attempting to escape him. It was downright foolish, and I felt his teeth slice through the back of my neck in response. I was lucky that he didn't just tear my head off then.
I closed my eyes against the burn, forcing my limbs to relax underneath his. I still remained silent, but I allowed the apology to rush through me. I honestly hadn't meant to fight him, no matter what my mind was shouting to do. I had no intention of losing my head, literally, because of my inability to stay still.
Eventually, the redhead and his human left, followed soon after by the other coven members. As the sun grew lower in the sky, only the leader and Major's mate remained as witnesses.
Maria must've thought I was dead because her call faded shortly after sunset. It was only then that Major moved, pulling me up with him, and keeping his hand firmly around my wrist.
The new bite on the back of my neck stung with the venom he had pumped into me for the past few hours.
"Elisabeth, I must insist that you stay with us until Bella is changed. You may leave then, but I will not allow you to place my coven into danger." The leader said, gazing at me.
There was no kindness in his eyes. I dreaded to think what would happen if I refused.
"I'll stay." I whispered, glancing down at Major's hand around my wrist.
It wasn't like I had much of a choice.
"And we will help you resist her." The Major's mate piped up, oddly at peace with the fact that a stranger was so close to her mate.
I avoided looking at her, keeping my eyes on the grass beneath my feet. I wasn't wearing shoes, as that had been an unnecessary cost for Maria, but the grass felt kind of nice underneath my skin.
"As for hunting, I will have to insist that you drink from animals so long as you remain with us. The only contact you have with humans will be limited to Bella, so there shouldn't be any slips."
My eyes snapped up to the leader's.
"You hunt animals?" I questioned, slightly disgusted at the thought, but intrigued, nonetheless.
Was that why they all had golden eyes?
The leader smiled, appearing to take my interest as complacency. Then again, it's not like I had much of a choice.
"We do. In fact, if you're feeling up to it, Jasper and Alice will take you now." He said, looking to Major's mate.
I stiffened as her eyes met mine.
Major's hand tightened threateningly, but I couldn't help but to breathe, "She's a seer."
I quickly looked away when Major growled, focusing my eyes on the blades of grass poking up between my toes.
"Does Maria know this?" The leader asked, his voice harder than before.
I shook my head.
"No. It's... I can tell when someone is using their gift on me, even if it's not obvious." I muttered.
The leader hummed.
"An useful ability." He said, and then turned to 'Alice' and Major.
"We'll be fine, Carlisle. Maria won't try again for a few hours." Alice said, and 'Carlisle' nodded, leaving the clearing in the blink of an eye.
Now that their leader was gone, I was careful to not overstep their unspoken boundaries. Major kept his hand firmly around my wrist, even when Alice brought a dead deer to me.
The blood tasted almost sour compared to human blood, and I felt myself wanting to pull away before I was even half full. It was... disgusting, but I kept drinking until the deer was dry, lest Major's patience finally ended with my disobedience.
"Do you want another?" Alice asked, her voice somehow still friendly considering the situation.
"No." I muttered, staring past her into the trees.
I made sure not to watch when she hunted, and I didn't move a muscle when Major left my side to retrieve his own meal.
It was on our way back to wherever they lived that I felt the urge to run flare up again. No conscious thoughts went through my head as I broke from Major's side. He hadn't grabbed my wrist after he finished hunting, allowing me to slip effortlessly into the trees.
I almost thought I had gotten away, running the fastest I ever have, when he crashed into my side, pinning me to the ground with far too much ease, and piercing the recently healed bite with his teeth. His hands, wrapped around my wrists and pinning them to the ground, tightened, and I felt wave after wave of fear pulsing through me.
I understood in that moment why Major was one of the most feared vampires in existence.
"I know you can't help it, Elisabeth, and that is the only reason you're not dead." I heard Alice say from where she leaned against a tree.
I didn't dare turn my head towards her, trembling underneath Major. He was so close to killing me - would this be the moment his patience gave out? Would my name be added to the thousands of vampires he had slaughtered over the years? His venom burned my veins as he pumped more and more of it into the bite.
It took longer this time, but I slowly felt the call ebbing away, and I relaxed as much as I could underneath Major. My fingers curled, brushing against his own, but I remained still otherwise, feeling the burning through my body, and using the pain to center myself.
The fear he was warping through me shifted into a deep lethargy that made it hard to remember where I was. It reminded me a bit like Alec's paralyzing mist, except I could feel him when he moved off of me, lifting me in his arms in almost the same motion.
"Esme is going to set up her room tomorrow, so she'll have to be in our room until then." Alice said as I felt Major begin to run.
"That's fine. I don't want her trying to leave again." He replied, and I felt a flash of irritation before the lethargy returned.
Despite my inability to move, I was aware of my surroundings as we entered the house. It had been a long while since I had entered a home of my own free-will, but I supposed that I wasn't really in control of this situation either.
With Major's gift, and his mate's foresight, nothing I did here would be of my own volition.
"Is she okay?" A voice, warmer and softer than a vampire's, spoke.
I realized that this was the human girl (Bella?) that had clung to the redhead.
"What happened?" I heard Carlisle's mate (Esme?) ask.
"She tried to run again, so Jasper had to subdue her." Alice replied to both of them.
"I thought vampires couldn't sleep." Bella said, confused.
I could practically feel her gaze on me.
"Oh, she's very much awake and aware... though, it's a bit curious; her thoughts are slower than someone else's would be under Jasper's influence." The redhead said.
A bit late, I realized that he was still reading my mind.
"She's not fighting me." Major explained.
They fell silent for a moment, and then Bella asked, "Why not? Doesn't she see us as enemies?"
Enemies or not - they outnumbered me. I knew I would be torn to shreds if they felt I was a threat. Besides, Major's lethargy was soothing as it swirled through me. In the daze he kept me in, it felt like Maria couldn't reach me.
"She fears us. And she finds Jasper comforting." The redhead said, a strange note in his voice.
"Of course she does; he's probably making her feel that way." The blonde female remarked, and I heard a rustle from her direction like she had just flipped her hair.
Major actually wasn't forcing me to feel comfortable, but how was she to know that?
"Does she just have the bite on her neck?" Esme asked, her concern apparent in her voice, though I still wasn't sure why she actually cared.
"Yeah. It'll scar badly, but that's the only way to stop her." Alice replied.
Major began to move, most likely up the stairs if the shift in air temperature was correct.
"I wonder how long she's been with Maria." Bella mused before a door closed, turning the voices downstairs into a low hum.
I was laid down on what felt like a couch - comfortable enough that I sank into its cushions.
"Alice, I don't want to leave her here alone." Major said as he pulled away from me.
Without his skin touching mine, his gift was lessened enough for me to blink open my eyes. Alice stood by the door, her eyes focused on me.
"I agree. Even Emmett won't be able to stop her if she decides to run - or if Maria calls her." She replied.
Her eyes moved from my face over my body.
"How old were you when you were turned? Fifteen? Sixteen?" She asked curiously.
I wanted to ignore her, but Major's calm was making it hard to think.
"Eighteen." I whispered.
She tilted her head, surprise flashing through her eyes.
"And how long ago did Maria turn you?" She asked.
I really tried not to speak this time, but Major's calm turned threatening the longer I remained silent.
"1926." I hissed out.
Just like that, the calm was gone.
I sat up, staring at the plush carpet as I waited for them to speak. If the rumors were correct, Major had left Maria in 1944. I was... released from that dark place shortly after his escape... which meant that I had spent roughly eighteen years –
I forced my thoughts to quiet, focusing on the way the carpet threads shuddered with every brush of air against them. I knew the moment Alice discovered what I was hiding. She inhaled sharply, crossing the room despite Major's growl, and wrapped her arms firmly around my shoulders.
I froze, but she didn't let up, her head resting against my collar as she held me. I glanced up at Major before quickly lowering my gaze when I saw his dark glare. I didn't dare lift my arms to touch Alice, not even to push her away.
I wasn't going to risk losing my limbs.
"I'm sorry. If I would've known..." She whispered, her breath warm against my neck.
It was strangely intimate, being held by her, and I found myself relaxing just slightly in her embrace.
"How could you have known?" I muttered as she finally pulled away.
She left one of her hands over mine, her eyes focused on my face with an odd intensity.
"We won't let her take you." She promised, ignoring my question. "I know it feels weird that we care about you, Elisabeth, but... but I can see the future, and I can see you with us. After Bella is changed, we won't force you to stay here, but I hope that you will give us a chance until then."
She squeezed my hand, her honesty shining fiercely in her eyes.
"It's not like I have a choice." I murmured, looking away from her.
They would kill me if I ever tried to leave.
"There are far worse punishments." Major snapped.
Alice sighed and reached out to me. This time, however, I pulled away before she could touch me, backing up to the wall.
For the first time, I noticed that they didn't have a window in their room. The walls were hard against my back, and I realized that they were probably built to keep vampires from going through them. She dropped her hand back to her side, a flash of hurt moving across her face. It made me uncomfortable.
"You may as well just kill me now." I told them, my lips curling. "Maria will come for me, and everything I've learned will be hers."
Death was preferable to... whatever they were trying to do. Major flew forward, his hand wrapping tightly around my throat.
"You dare threaten my family?" He snarled in my face, his eyes black with fury.
"Jazz, stop! This is what she wants." Alice spoke, and my eyes flickered to hers.
"Don't pretend to know me just because you saw a few visions about us." I sneered, and then, venom filled my mouth, dripping down my chin as Major ripped my tongue out of my mouth.
I stared blankly at the pink muscle as he tossed it carelessly on the table next to the couch. The absence of my tongue was strange, but not entirely unbearable. Alice remained silent, her eyes moving quickly between us.
"You disrespected my mate. It's by her wish that you aren't dead." Major hissed, his hand tightening threateningly around my neck.
I kept my mouth shut, swallowing the overflowing venom with a bit of a struggle.
"Jazz..." Alice whispered, and his hand loosened around my neck, the fear he was pumping through me softening.
That deep lethargy moved through me, and I felt myself slump into his arms, my eyes closing automatically.
He sat next to me on the bed, his hand pressed firmly against my breastbone as Alice sat on my other side, leaning against his shoulder. Her fingers ran soothingly through my hair, untangling the knots that I had never bothered to brush out.
Lying there was the closest thing I'd ever felt to sleeping as a vampire, and I could almost imagine falling in love with them... if they hadn't stolen my tongue, that is.
