Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight =(

Chapter 6

This is why he confuses me so much. I start thinking, oh maybe he's not so bad, and then I get slapped across the face with one of his little comments. Sometimes I think he's bipolar. Besides all that, I'm starting to get worried. He talks of this Aro as if he were a god or something. How am I supposed to defeat a god? I'm running out of time.

All of a sudden Orlando started talking very quickly.

"You need to be very quiet around Aro, and whatever happens, do not make Jane mad. These are not just any vampires. Gianna, this is the royal family. They have powers beyond what you can imagine. Even if you did somehow manage to escape, they would find you in a matter of minutes. And when they found you, they would make your death so excruciating that you would wish you never ran away in the first place."

I gasped. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Look, I know you think I hate you, but I don't. And I don't think it's fair for you to walk into this blindfolded. I want you to know what you're going up against."

I didn't know what to say. I was touched by his kindness, but at the same time it was as if someone had given me a present only for me to find out it was a deadly spider. He was basically telling me that there was no hope.

Hope. Only a month ago, I was full of it. A month ago, I was sitting with Will and dreaming about the future. But that future is no more. It was taken away from me, and as I realized that, I remembered my thirst for revenge. The devastation that I had been feeling only seconds ago was immediately replaced by determination.

"Let's go," I told him.

"What? That's it? Are you so ready to die?"

"Orlando, pick a side. It's getting tiring to hear you tell me that there's no hope only to change your mind one second later and try to get me to stay. Are we going or what?"

He silently nodded and led the way.

I had never been to Italy before, and I knew there was a good chance that I would never see it again. I absorbed everything; the buildings, the art, the smells, the people. If I could see one thing before I died, I think this would have to be it. This place was beautiful, and the people were so peaceful. They were completely oblivious to the fact that I was being led to my death. They were completely unaware of who really ruled their city. I wish I could be as lucky as them. I wish I could get rid of all these dark thoughts and awful burdens that struggled to bring me down. But I wasn't going to become all depressed. If I had to die today, I was going to walk in there with my head held high. After all, I discovered their secret, and that had to be something to be proud of.

"We're here."

I'm not really sure what I expected. Maybe I thought I was going to see some huge castle with thousands of guards ready to attack any possible threat. Actually, I just expected anything other than this. What he led me to was a big hole in the ground. That's right; the sewer.

"You have got to be kidding me." I glared at him.

"What now?

"You expect me to go down that?"

"Yes Gianna, I do expect you to go down the giant hole. And I expect you to go down without saying a single world? Got it?"

There was something about his eyes that really scared me. It was a mix of anger, passion, and fear. I silently climbed down the hole, thinking about what could be bothering him so much.

As soon as Orlando came down the hole, I grabbed his hand, and he immediately stiffened.

"Look, I know this is probably uncomfortable for you, but I will seriously get lost and fall a bunch of times if I am not holding on to you."

He didn't even answer. He just started walking forward.

After walking for what seemed like hours, I started to see a light up ahead. I started to relax until I felt like there was something strangely familiar about this. It was kind of like déjà vu. A huge shiver ran down my spine as I remembered exactly where I had seen this before. How could I forget when it's been haunting my dreams? This was exactly like that night in the alley. I immediately froze. Orlando started pulling at my hand, obviously annoyed. Tears started running down my face and I started to break down.

"Gianna?" His tone started to soften as he realized I was crying.

"Gianna what happened?"

I don't know what came over me but in that moment, I told him everything. I told him about that night in the alley all the way to right now. I even told him about the man who haunted my dreams. And then I really started crying.

"Gianna, please stop crying. It's alright. You're safe with me. Don't worry. I won't let him get you. I promise."

The flow of tears slowed and eventually stopped.

"R-Really? You promise?"

"Gianna, I….I….. (he sighed) yes I promise."

I knew he wanted to say something else but I let it go at that. He helped me up and we reached the end of the tunnel. We entered a huge room. I saw there was a desk in the middle of the room but no one was there. Orlando caught me looking at it.

"Uhm, we're kind of looking for a secretary. It's kind of hard because no vampire will settle for that kind of a job. Vampires are so powerful that it's degrading."

He led me to another hallway but at least this time I could see. We reached a huge double door at the end, and he looked at me.

"Ready?"

All these thoughts were running through my head. I realized how amazing Orlando looked. I realized that my whole body was tingling and I didn't understand why.

I shook my head. What was getting into me?! I was acting like he was my boyfriend or something. That was wrong. I reminded myself that I barely knew him and I was acting like a fool. I took a deep breath.

"Gianna?"

"I'm ready."

He opened the door and a man in a long cloak was standing there staring at us. I saw him look down at our hands and I realized they were still entwined. He cleared his throat, and we both let go, too embarrassed to look at each other. I finally looked up at him, and he said,

"Hello Gianna, I've been waiting for you."