Pandora

Chapter II:

Encounter? Mysterious coincidence!

Thank you to those who have read, reviewed and favorited my story! Really appreciate all your support and love!

Alicia Mirza-Thanks for being my first reviewer! It made my heart soar! I'm glad you liked it and find the character in-character hehe! LOL, I'm glad you liked Jessica's bluntness because there will be more in the future hehe! Oh, you will soon see more of Bella's phone call with Jessica. Yep, in some future chapters, Jessica will be a vampire and I'll be so excited when I write about it! I agree, she is soo lucky to stay in the Volterra well the place the New Moon was filmed..I wanna go too! Well, I might go there with friends when I'm 18. Do you ever want to visit the place? Thanks for pointing out some spelling errors, oh and I'm from UK so I might spell some words different from the way American writes such as hypnotize, I'll write it as hypnotise. If there are any improvements or any errors, please don't hesitate to tell me. Thanks for reading once again and hope you enjoy this chapter too!

TokyoHanon97- Hehehehe, Jessica will meet Aro soon! Thanks for reading and reviewing! Enjoy~!

Cereza101- Hahaha, I'm glad I changed your opinion although in a good way or bad way is in question! Thanks for reading this story although it has nothing to do with my other story! Hope you enjoy!

vic90- Thank you! Your username sounds familiar and I think you reviewed my other stories too! Thanks! Oh and enjoy :)

wiwi- Thank you soooo much! I'm glad you liked it! I hope you will like this chapter as you did with the first.

Thank you for all of whom read my story; I hope you enjoyed reading and hope you will like this too. Thanks guys!

Edited by YanaTG and updated on 11/05/2020

It was a week later that they met again. Before that, she stumbled upon an innocent coincidence of catching another glimpse of Heidi leading a band of tourists into the secret tunnel that would directly take them to the castle.

Jessica regarded it suspiciously but otherwise stayed quiet and pushed it back into her mind until she absentmindedly seemed to wander into the 'forbidden' area. It was like something was trying to tell her something. After the phone call with Alec, Bella seemed a lot more occupied with giving her an extra attention with calls and messages every few hours a day.

Bella: Hey, what you doing?

Jess: Nothing. You?

Bella: Doing my homework. Just thought I'd check up on you since you're so far away.

Jess: I'm doing fine : ) the Volterra is so nice, you should come visit!

Bella: haha I will someday! Any plans for today?

Jess: Nothing really. There isn't so much to look at here but it's the peace and calmness that I like.

Bella: haha I need that peace and calmness in my life lmao

Jess: saw Heidi today again. She had group of tourists with her and I think they went into some kind of tunnel or something. Weird. I don't really see them again.

Bella: oh. You shouldn't really care about that too much. Probably they are those crammed tour where you spend like few hours in one place then quickly move on to the next.

Jess: yah, probably. So bored I'm like observing everything lol.

Bella: hahaha! So when you coming back?

Jess: not sure. Probably gonna stay for a few months or something.

Bella: yaa, wish you were here! It's so boring without you!

Jess: I know XD like it's moi's presence that made the school bearable! I'm the beacon of light to Forks High. Anywhoo, I'll text ya later. Gotta go.

Bella: okay! Just text me when you get back in the hotel or something!

Jess: will do, bye!

Bella: : )

Jessica thought how bizarre it was that Bella wanted her to not worry about Heidi or Alec when just a week ago she had called her, crying, as though Alec might have done something menacing to her. It was almost as if she was saying, 'don't ask about them, don't care about them, just ignore them and don't try get involved'. She wasn't stupid to not realize they were hiding something from her and it was clear that they didn't want her to uncover it, whatever it may be.

Even so, at least she had Bella and Angela for company. Jessica let out a breathy sigh through her nose and looked up from her phone. "Maybe I chose the wrong destination." She murmured to herself. Lonely. It was such a foreign concept in a sense that she was actually alone. Physically. She was never alone.

Well, most of the time. For once, she actually managed to message and reply to all of her parents' and friends' messages without taking weeks and weeks to reply. For someone who was so social, she was lame at replying straight away. Maybe I should go to a bar. She thought, 'shit..I can't buy alcohol, can I?'

A bottle of vodka, mango juice and plastic cups in a inconspicuous black plastic bag swung in rhythm as Jessica hummed gaily with a spring in her steps. The shop keeper didn't bother looking up at her as he scanned her items and paid for it. She headed for a place she knew would have a nice view of meadow and hills surrounding the walls of Volterra. It was an outskirt area, just north from the main part of the town and very isolated from the busy life of the inhabitants there.

Jessica poured vodka until it filled the half of the cup then the rest with mango juice. Covering the opening with bunch of napkins she stole from the hotel, she gave it a quick swirl to create a mini hurricane in the liquid. Tipping the cup on her lip, Jessica gulped down the burning sensation. "Shit, this is good."

Her eyes landed on the castle that stood tall, its keep clear even from distance. It was Volterra's core historic monument that has been around since the birth of the town. The history of how it came to be was vague but it was rumored that it was built by the vampires that came to reside here long ago until St. Marcus drove them away. Vampires. It was an interesting urban legend for this seemingly mundane, peaceful hilly town but eerily fitting for a place so far from civilization, surrounded by vast forests. It was like a haven disconnected from the modern civilization.

"Vampires, huh…" She muttered.

She wished she brought her favourite drunk food but it was inconvenient to eat outside like this. Apparently, rice and peanut butter; rice and black coffee; vanilla ice cream and black pepper; ramen and tortilla chips did not qualified as post-drink food and was far from being tasty. Jessica begged to differ, even Michelin star dish could not compare to her go-to munchies snacks.

Plopping back on the grass, she gazed at the clear night sky lit by the bright starlight and silvery crescent moon. The night was so beautiful here. Her lid drooped heavily and before she could register, Jessica had fallen into a deep sleep.

She had woken up to the dewy cold of an early morning, shivering as wetness sipped through her thin clothes. The sun had managed to reveal half of its face to the world but the moon and the stars were still visible to the naked eye. The empty bottles and cup laid by her side just as she had left it before drifting into unconsciousness. The alcohol was still in her system.

Then she heard the sound of a jet engine making a land from afar. Its deafening sound disturbing the eldritch silence of the forest before its engine swiftly died away.

A jet? Jessica frowned, must be some sort of rich people travelling over from the main city.

She was curious. Jessica had never seen a private jet in real life other than in TV. Gathering her trash, she travelled to the directions of the sound. Just over the hill was a large vast of land she did not know existed. It was plenty of ground to land a jet or two. From a distance, the stairs of the jet slowly unraveled and stretched toward the ground before the door opened and a figure stepped out. Jessica blinked. It was Heidi. Her usual simple red dress seemed so much more glamorous on her. She had the body for it and the dress simply accentuated it.

Behind her was another group of tourists ranging from youngsters to senior. All seemed excited to be here, taking pictures with their large cameras and chatting with each other. Heidi led the group toward the familiar place where she was warned not to step foot in again.

What kind of tour group does Heidi work for? Jessica thought curiously. Something wasn't right, she could feel it. There was something disturbing about the two. The same feeling she got whenever she saw the Cullens' but more intense. A light breeze brushed past her, hair swaying in the direction and carried her scent to the lower ground. Heidi caught the familiar smell in the air, sniffing the air as it mingled with the other humans and her own. Smiling, Heidi kept on walking as her enchanted preys flocked together and blindly followed their guide.

Within minutes, Heidi and the tourists disappeared.

Jess: Hey, Bella.

Bella: Yeah, wassup?

Jess: So you know Alec and Heidi..

Bella: Yeah, what's wrong?

Jess: Do they run their own tour company or something?

Bella: Yeah, why?

Jess: Nothing. Just found some things strange about them. Never mind.

Bella: Strange about what?

Jess: Just..nah

Bella: You can tell me, you know.

Jessica mulled for a moment, her fingers hovering above the keyboard. She quickly typed:

Jess: It's strange because they come here on a private jet! Must have been a hella expensive holiday. Anyway, it's just seemed weird how the tourists go to see just the castle then leave. Like there's so many places to see here and it's weird they only see the castle.

Bella: Maybe they only paid for the castle viewing? I mean, I don't think there's anything strange…are you drunk?

Jess: what? Um..no..

Bella: LOL I'll take that as yes haha

Jess: I had a bit of vodka okay?

Bella: you mean a whole bottle of vodka

Jess: I diluted it with mango juice so it's okay. My body doesn't know.

Bella: …that's not how it works tho

Jess: shhh!

Bella: Well, it seems you're having fun..

Jess: How's Mike doing?

Bella: um..he's doing alright I guess?

Jess: alright?

Bella: well he seemed..Mike.

Jess: ugh of course.

Bella: Don't you think it's right to come back and you know, sort things out?

Jess: what's there to sort out anyway?

Bella: Well, you did sort of.. run away…

Jess: No it's called taking time for yourself.

Bella: Yeah, whatever you say.

Jess: I need a quality time with myself, okay?

Bella: LOL okay.

Their conversation ended. Jessica scratched her head, something about Heidi and Alec tugged at her mind. Like ripples expanding across the still water and creating disturbances. The question was, how big would the disturbance become?

The next day, Jessica decided to visit the castle. She didn't know why after weeks of coming to Volterra that visiting its emblem hadn't cross her mind. Then again, she preferred sitting in a timeworn café tucked away from the hustle and bustle street hidden in the walls of hallways as she stared out of the window and watching the people walk by.

The castle was open to everyone, no entrance fee nor modernized with gift shops or a cafe, but preserved just as they had been built. The castle was like a maze with many doors, stairs and rooms, some off limit, and there were very few artificial lights. Instead there were torches situated on the walls and candle chandeliers hanging from the eye of the ceiling. There was only a reception in the front with only one woman manning the desk and her eyes followed the people coming in and out and around vigilantly.

She went to the first floor, marveling at the beautiful architecture and expensive art pieces on display. Whoever used to own it seemed to have a taste for art and tradition.

I wonder who it belongs to…

The wall was cold to her touch. Almost like Alec's hand. Jessica headed downstairs where the reception were and approached the counter.

"May I help you?" Asked the beautiful Italian woman. Valentina, her name tag read.

"Um, yeah, I was wondering if I can join some sort of castle tour group."

"We do not offer any tour options, I'm afraid. However we do have a leaflet about the castle if you like."

"Well I was wondering if you can put me in Heidi's group."

The receptionist froze, eyes slightly widened and jaw dropped. Composing herself, the receptionist offered a cordial smile and small head shake, feigning confusion, "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I don't know who Heidi is."

"She's a tour leader. She comes here often." Jessica prodded carefully.

"I'm sorry, Miss, but various tour groups go in and out of here every day - all which we do not have any affiliations with. It is simply impossible to know every single one of their faces."

"Okay. Thank you." Jessica nodded, taking the leaflet. She didn't expect any answers anyway and walked away.

"Miss!" The receptionist called. Jessica turned.

"May I take your name and if you mind, a contact number down?" Valentina asked, "In case I see Heidi's group next time and pass on your interest."

Jessica took the pen and paper, "I'll just put my name down since I'm here for few more months so I'll just visit again next time. Here you go." She slid the paper and pen to Valentina.

"Thank you…Lauren?"

Jessica nodded, "Thank you. Take care."

"Thank you, you too." Valentina smiled.

When Jessica disappeared around the corner, Valentina pressed one on the telephone. After one dial tone, the phone was picked up.

"Lauren Mallory came to me today asking about Heidi." She curtly said over the phone before putting the speaker back to headset. What she did not know was that Jessica had used the hidden corner to travel back to the reception area and had heard Valentina's phone call from behind the wall.

Jessica knew there was something wrong about the whole thing.

Heidi was passed on the message regarding Lauren Mallory by Gianna and for a moment, the name was a stranger to her until a certain face flashed through her mind.

"Lauren Mallory…" Heidi muttered then corrected, "..Jessica Stanley."

Her red clad hip swayed seductively as she strode toward the library where the young vampire tended to reside.

"Alec." She called.

The young vampire sat reclined on the marble floor with his back supported by the heavy, tall bookshelf. He looked up from the book that was occupying his interest for now.

"It seemed Jessica has been asking around about me."

Alec blinked. "Ah, the human girl."

"Should I kill her?" She asked jestingly.

"It's forbidden to kill anyone within these walls."

She smiled, "I know. Thought you'd say that. Maybe you can try and slide into her DMs? Ask her what she's been up to."

Alec shook his head disapprovingly, "You've been hanging around humans too much."

"It's my job to blend in." Heidi grinned, "Besides, the modern human world is interesting."

He scoffed, "To you. They are just food."

"They are interesting food."

Alec closed the book with a sharp curl of his fingers at the spine, staring at the small particle of dust stirring in the air from the disturbance.

"You're awfully curious."

Jessica blinked as she spat out the acidic content back into the plastic cup, "Please don't tell anyone that I'm drinking while underage. I was only gonna have two shots. With mango juice."

"I warned you once, did I not?" He said, ignoring her obvious indulgence of illegal activity. "Before it's too late, do what you need to do here and go quietly. Don't stir up unnecessary conflicts."

"I'm not stupid to not know that Valentina called you up." She revealed, "You people are hiding something. I know."

"There's nothing we're hiding." He said, "Just leave it be."

"And if I don't?" Jessica challenged.

"You would not want to know." His voice dropped a tone lower, a clear warning.

"Is it illegal?" She asked, "What you're––Heidi is doing..?"

"It's none of your business." He sharply dismissed.

"If I find out…will I die?"

Alec stilled and this was more than enough for Jessica to realize the gravity of the situation. Her body went cold and a thought popped up that maybe she pushed her luck more than she should have and gave into her curiosity too much.

He could hear her heart beating frantically, her breath more laboured and shorter in duration and her eyes trembled.

"Now you're scared." He muttered.

"I think this is a normal reaction." Jessica joked lightly, controlling her breath to calm down her slamming heartbeats.

"…Do the Cullens know?"

"Still foolishly brave enough?"

Jessica sighed at her own damn curiosity, "I just want to know. Anything! The Cullens always boggled my mind. And now you too. There's just something similar about you and them. I just can't put my finger on it. You guys aren't like some mafia family, right? Or in a cult? Or…are you an assassin?"

"Remember what I said."

"I'm drunk, so I won't probably." Jessica admitted with a hiccup she attempted to muffle with her palm, "I know you people are up to something because Bella's been texting me nonstop trying to check if I'm alive. So if I die, people will know."

Alec sighed and turned to leave when Jessica said, "I'm not afraid of dying anyway."

Amused, he glanced over his shoulder, "Oh?"

"Yeah, so if you're gonna kill me, guess what, I'm not afraid." She confidently revealed then added later, "After I ticked off my entire bucket list and had my last supper because even Judas was nice to let Jesus eat before he made him go through all that bullshit!"

Alec's hands were tied. As long as she was within the walls of Volterra, no killings by vampires, no matter how inconspicuous it may be, were allowed.

Jessica stood up, collecting her half empty drinks and cup and decided to call it a day. Stretching her arms and back, she turned and asked, "Where do you even live anyway?"

"I live here."

"Yeah, but where?" She asked.

"Here."

"Oh I get it; you can't tell me the exact location." Jessica gasped then laughed, "Okay, I get it..shhh…"

Alec remained silent.

"I'll see you around then." She said and headed toward the cheap inn she rented.

Jessica liked taking the backstreet than through the town. There was something comfortable and familiar of the dull, broken remnant of the hidden side. It'd take her less than ten minutes of walking to get to the inn compared to almost twenty minutes with the long way. However, the short cut was too dark and too many staircases for her liking. On both sides, brick walls broken at intervals by wooden doors and houses showed back windows lighted and curtained. The light from the main street never reached the crooked alleyways and heavy, smoky smell of almost gone of perfume would irritate her nose.

Normally, the alley was empty and at a glance, there seemed to be no inhabitants in these houses if it were not for the dim lights shining through the barricaded windows. But as she descended down to her last set of narrow stairs, she noticed in the middle, two men jutted out from each corner and even with the distance; she could smell the strong liquor.

Jessica made it down half way of the stairs and few more steps down she would make it to her home. A grubby hand reached out to grab her wrist.

He said something in Italian first; a language she did not fluently understood or spoke. The alcohol coated breath mingled with her own in an airy exhale of tango.

"Sorry, what?" Jessica asked.

"Join us?" The middle aged man slurred in thick accent.

"No, thank you." Jessica pulled her captured arm back. He pulled back.

The other man met her stares. His steel, nonchalant gaze with her expression clashed. Her silent cry for help only met walls as he turned away and went back the house next to where he had been standing with his friend.

"Let go!" She demanded, grabbing his wrist with her free hand to try and free her other arm.

"Come in." He began to drag her into the house. The plastic bag slipped away from her arm and splashed onto the cement with a clang. Jessica swiveled desperately for help and just as she was hauled past the porch column, from the corner of her eyes espied an unmoving hood clad figure on the top staircase.

"Alec!" She called in relief.

But he stood there, as if her cry for help fell on deaf ears. Numb. He seemed to not be bothered. Almost irritated even. A pang of anger shot through her like a sharp splinter embedded in her finger.

"ALEC!" She cried one last time. He might respond. He might not. He might turn and walk away like that man did. He'd be glad there wasn't anyone poking around for secrets him and Heidi were hiding. It must be a big secret. Worth more than her life. Or maybe her life wasn't worth that much at all.

The door creaked open with stiff swing. Inside was dark and musky. A complete abyss that sucked her in like black hole. She'd never escape if she went in.

"ALEC!"

Then something cold covered her eyes and that same coldness resonated through her arms before she felt airy coolness different from the solid cold she felt on her face and arms rolling around her entire form. The man said something in Italian with panic in his voice.

"Keep your eyes closed and go." He whispered to her. Even in such moment, she couldn't help but admire how musical his voice was now that she heard it so close.

She clenched her eyes shut; only looking down at the steps and her shoes and made it down from the hilly stairs. There were footsteps from behind her, light and controlled until it stopped beside her. His cold hand gently pried her fingers away from her wet face and a black plastic bag appeared in her sight with a rustle. She took the bag from him.

"For once you listened." He said.

"What happened to the guy?"

"He's fine." Alec said. The mist around him would disappear in a few minutes and he would wake up the next morning believing it to be a nightmare.

"I can't believe you just flat out ignored me like that."

"You said you weren't afraid to die." He reminded her, "I wanted to see if you really meant it."

"Yeah, but not like that!" She gaped in anger, "I meant like normal death. You know when it's your time and death comes knocking about and you won't be like 'please five more days'. I meant that naturally caused death, not assaulted, murdered then thrown in a ditch kind of death!"

"Death is all the same." He simply said, "And very rare few have the luxury to die at their time."

"That's such an asshole thing to say."

"I never said I was kind."

Giving him a pointed look, Jessica's knees suddenly gave out, collapsing on the ground as exhaustion and relief overwhelmed her.

"You didn't do anything..illegal to the guy did you?"

"I can assure you that he is alive and fine."

"Yeah but can I say the same thing for his mental health?" Jessica craned her neck toward standing Alec with a raised brow. He turned away to face the other side.

She wanted to ask what he was hiding under there that he was so desperate to keep it hidden but kept her lips pursed. Curiosity. It was her weakness and strength. It was why she wanted to major in philosophy. There was no such thing as too much questions or probing to the philosophers.

Her eyes landed on the crest that hung on his neck instead. V shaped and blazon placed proudly in the centre. The shield was divided into quarterly fields with a tree and bird symbols mirrored diagonally.

V? Maybe that's his family name.

"Thanks for saving me though." She mentioned weakly, "Even though you were being a jerk with the five minute-let-see-what-she-does-pause, you helped in the end."

"Perhaps you should be more careful."

"I will, dad(!)" Jessica rolled her eyes with a small smile she could muster, "You know, for a young kid, you sure can fight. I'm leaning more on the mafia theory."

He shouldn't have intervened. A vampire shouldn't meddle with human affairs. But her scream of his name had reminded him of Jane when they were dragged and separated by the villagers in fear that keeping them together until the burning would make their powers stronger. In that moment, he saw Jane reaching out for his hands, tears in her fear struck eyes and his name on the tip of her tongue. He reacted. His control nearly slipped and almost did the unforgivable.

"You're irritating me."

Jessica smiled, lowering her head, "I get that a lot. Did you know I don't consider Forks as my home? I moved to Forks when I was young but I don't really feel like I belong there. Bella, on the other hand, she fit right in. One moment she's the new girl in town next she's going out with Edward Cullen and hanging out with the other Cullens'. I don't really see what's so special about her. You know she went into major depressive mode after Edward dumped her..she was like a zombie. I tried to tell her she shouldn't waste away her life pining after someone that left her but I guess, in the end, it worked out for them. Wish I had her luck." Her voice was bitter in envy. Drunk Jessica always equalled honest Jessica who loved to talk about her feelings.

Heaving herself up and dusting away the dirt on her jeans, she faced Alec, "You might be a jerk but…I don't think you're that bad either. Goodnight, Alec."

Alec watched as she disappeared into the street.

"You're wrong." He said after she was long gone. I'm a monster.

Edited by YanaTG and updated on 11/05/2020