Blood filled Anne's vision.

She barely heard or felt anything else, every fiber being on her was focused on the taste of human blood.

And Alec.

Somehow the blood and Alec had merged into one. She couldn't seperate them. But maybe Anne did enjoy it.

She was locked up in a room in the mansion. She couldn't break out, no matter how hard she tried. The room closed down like a prison. Anne screamed, kicked the door, picked the lock. Nothing worked.

Every now and then Bella or Edward would come to check her. They tried to talk her back. No, don't drink human blood. Human blood bad. Anne bad. Don't love Alec. He was lying to her.

What did they even know? What did they know of Alec? Alec was not bad, Alec was kind, good, and generous. Alec loved her, he knew what was best for her. Anne needed Alec.

She threw away the cup of animal blood they gave her. It smelled horrible, tasted even less than water. She needed human blood. The warm, sweet liquid that sang through her vein.

Energy was being drained from Anne, she could barely see and walk straight. She couldn't fight when Carlisle sticked the needle in her, and the animal blood ran in.

It was not the same, she tried to say, couldn't they see, she needed blood, but it had to be human. She needed Alec, badly, because he knew what was best for her, because he cared about Anne, he truly loved her.

The moment she gained enough strength, she lunged for the door. But they were faster, they locked her up, again.

If only Alec was here, he'd protect her. He would never let them lock her up like a caged animal like this. They were vampires! They were higher beings. They were not prey but the predators! They could not treat her like this, she deserved to be free.

Worse, they seperated her from Rene. Rene, her twin sister, who had never judged, never feared her. Rene who cared for her in her own special way, Rene, the only person who could see how Alec and Anne belonged to each other.

Anne was locked away from everything and everyone she loved. She craved for her little sanctuary, craved for the steady hands of Alec that always kept a hold on her, craved for the human blood he had given. She was going mad.

Anne did not know how long she had spent crying and wailing. But eventually she knew she had to stop. She was no puppet, she had no master. Alec had believed in her strength, he had trained her while the other ignored little Anne, he saw the potential in her that no other saw.

Alec believed Anne was strong.

She needed to prove that to him. If Alec couldn't come to her, she'd come for him.


"Mother?" - Anne called tentatively.

There was a rush behind the door, before Bella's voice reached her.

"Hello little princess."

Anne knew she should have felt guilty for making her mother cry, but what did they truly know of her? They locked her up when she needed to be free, they chained her up when she screamed of hunger.

No, Anne did not feel anymore guilt.

"I miss Rene." - She sobbed. - "Please let me talk to her, mother, please."

Bella would give up, eventually. She couldn't stand hearing her daughters' cry. Edward was much stricter, she couldn't fool him. But Bella, Bella, Bella...

So Rene came, two sister were seperated by a door. They couldn't see, but they didn't need eyes for that. They felt the other.

"Hello Anne." - Rene whispered. - "I've missed you too."

All she needed was to convince Rene to free her. How hard could that be, huh? Rene pained to see Anne locked up. Rene would free her, like Anne would go to the end of the earth to save her sister. All she needed to do was to tell Rene that.

Just a few minutes, she pleaded, a few minutes to feel the wind on her face, the earth under her feet, the sound of water in her ears. Just a few minutes was all she asked, Anne sobbed. She missed the forest, please, Rene.

Rene gave in, she opened the lock for Anne that night.

They had to be discreet, no one allowed Anne outside. And Jacob, the dog. Anne bit her lips, wondering if Rene told him any of her little scheme.

"No, I did not tell him." - Rene answered her unspoken question. - "Tonight just for two of us. Tell me, is he worth it? Is he worth throwing away who you are, who we are? Is he worth it for you to run away with him?"

Anne looked at her sister, surprised. But Rene did not yield from her stare. - "Is he worth it?" - She repeated.

"Yes." - Anne answered, truth in every word. - "He is everything."

Rene sighed, nothing left to say. The two sisters traveled to the boundary of their land. Rain was coming, Anne could smell it in the air, rain would cover her track.

"Go." Anne turned to her sister, it was her turn to be surprised. But Rene did not look at her. "Go with him. I don't know what is like to be in a place where you don't belong, I don't know what is like to be seperated from the one you love. And I don't wish to know it, either. I wish to never feel the same way you are feeling right now. Go, I'll tell parents I let you go. I can't promise that they would not follow you, but I can stall them." - She finally looked at Anne, and it was until now, Anne truly saw how strong her sister was. - "I have written to Heldi. She is waiting for you in the airprot right now, she will take you to the Volturi. Go to your love, Anne. I want you to be loved and be treated the way I am, the way both of us deserve to."

Anne did not waste a second. She only stopped to give Rene a brief hug, before running into the night.


Rene kept true to her word, Heldi was waiting for her in the airport, a bag of human blood was already in her hand. She offered no word as Anne rushed for the bag and finished it in a second.

They got on a private jet, Heldi held out another blood bag for Anne. She took it with gratitude. The woman drank with her in silence. Every gulp gave Anne strength like never before.

They landed in Voltera at midday.

It was all like a blur, the flight, the trip from the airport to the castle. Anne remembered briefly how she had talked with Heldi and the driver, but that was it. There was a tug in her heart, pulling her toward the Volturi. How could she ever think of the castle as a gloomy place? Heldi offered her a smile, as Anne actually squealed in delight, as the car stopped.

She rushed inside, she couldn't careless of her surrounding. She ran to the throne room, because she knew HE was there.

Anne was right.

Standing beside the throne was Alec. Tall, dark, mysterious Alec, dressed in black. His red eyes glimmered when he saw her.

Anne ran straight to his open arms.

This was home. She was home, at last.