A/N:Hello, people!Thanks for reviewing and sorry for the slow update. I have to take breaks from writing so that my inspiration doesn't get worn out. And here's chapter 14! With a bit of a cliffhanger at the end, and I think you can all guess how Nikolas really feels. That was a hint to the next chapter. So, happy reading! Oh, and reviews are nice too! - MissMei92

THE TALE OF ELIZABETH CULLEN

Red. Red. Red. All I saw was red. Blood red. Staring straight into the depths of my soul. Not a frightening red. A longing red. And then, the red disappeared and I was staring into a bright, glaring whiteness. A white light. "She's fine." I heard a gruff male voice say. The light vanished and I instinctively rose from my lying position. A searing pain shot through my head. I winced and rubbed my head. "Take her to the room, Nikolas." The gruff voice commanded. I stood up from the bed I'd been on. I nearly fell. My legs were wobbly and I couldn't stabilize myself. The one called Nikolas reached for me and caught me before I could fall. I felt chilled at his touch. It was as cold as a...vampire's. And then, all the memories flew into my mind, swirling up into a whirlwind of color, as understanding dawned on me.

I was here in Volterra, Italy. I'd met the Volturi...and I'd willingly put myself into a comatose state. I gazed up at Nikolas and I realized he was looking at me, a mixture of desire and sadness, in those blood red eyes of his. I recognized Nikolas, although I'd forgotten what it was that he'd done, I felt familiarity in his grasp. Oh, yes. He was the vampire who brought me here. Nikolas gently supported me, as I found my balance, and led me into another room, holding my hand in his cold grip. It was so cold...yet it still felt comforting. I hadn't felt anything in a long time.

The room I was in now, decorated modernly, with a flat-screen plasma television and a surround-sound system, felt warmer than the room before, where a chilling coldness had been piercing the air. Nikolas set me down on the bed in this room and momentarily disappeared, coming back soon enough with some clothes. He handed them to me and only then did I look at myself and realize I was just wearing a thin, plain dress. The kind that hospital patients wore. And then, I saw something else. Well, I had...grown, so to speak. Wait. I had grown?

Nikolas simply said, "Please change." But in a voice which sounded so harmonious and sweet, that it caught me by total surprise. I glanced up at him and saw that he'd turned around and left the room. I was alone. I dashed to a full-length mirror, hanging on the wall. I gasped. I had grown. In other words, I wasn't 12 years old anymore. I look like I'm 18! My hair had grown longer, the dark waves in my hair having turned into pretty curls, which were dropping to my waist. The blue in my eyes had vanished. My eyes were golden. Golden? But...only vampires had such eyes. I had sprung up like a tree. I was as tall as my mother now. And apparently, I now had well-defined curves. Right. I surveyed my appearance and something whispered inside my head, creating a haunting echo. You look like a vampire. Isn't that what you always wanted? To look like your parents...? I froze.

My parents. How long had I been asleep? If I was 18...I was sleeping...for 6 years. 6 years. That was a very, very long time. I sat back down on the bed and stared at the blank TV screen nearby. I'd lost 6 whole years of my life. And for what? So I could break my parents' hearts like in my vision and lose my old life completely? I would've have cried but for some reason, I couldn't. And then I remembered why. Vampires couldn't cry. I fingered the white blouse and skirt on the bed. The embroidery on them was pretty. It was a zig-zag pattern, created using silver and light blue sequins, on the hem of the skirt and the neckline of the blouse, which was V-shaped.

I heaved a depressed sigh and did what Nikolas had asked of me. I deftly changed, and quicker than usual too. Vampire speed. I looked so different now. I actually looked adequately pretty. I found a brush and combed out the tangles in my hair. I then braided my Rapunzel-like hair and tossed it over my left shoulder lightly. I looked chic. Something I'd never been able to do before. There was a light knock on the door and a harmonious voice asked, "Are you finished?"

"Yes, I'm done." I said back, loudly enough for the voice to hear. My voice sounded so mature now, the childlike traces of squeakiness gone.

The door opened and Nikolas entered. A look of awe and surprise, mixed with that weird sense of longing, filled his eyes. He looked speechless. I giggled nervously. "You look...nice." He said, although I obviously knew he wanted to say something else. Like, maybe beautiful. But that was inappropriate to the situation.

"We have a meeting with them." He said softly, his gaze never flickering from me. I nodded but his gaze was flattering, I suppose. Nobody except...him...had ever paid me that much attention before. He walked out the door and I followed, trailing behind him like a puppy did.

We walked down the same winding corridors until we reached a...reception desk? The lady sitting behind the counter was a vampire too, her eyes possessing the same blood red as Nikolas did. She didn't look up and her demeanor and appearance reminded me of Susan. But of course, she wasn't Susan. She pointed at the heavy, wide-set oak doors behind her and simply gave a slight nod. Nikolas beckoned to me and we walked towards the doors...which seemingly opened simultaneously for us to enter.

The chamber we entered was the same room which held the thrones upon which the Volturi sat. It'd been in here that I'd agreed to Aro's suggestion. Of being put into a coma. He'd been so persuasive...like he'd known what I was feeling and thinking. Like he knew everything I'd ever been through in my life. From the moment he'd taken my hand and shaken it.

Aro immediately stood up and swept over, his black robes flowing, to greet us, his expression benevolent. Marcus still had the same vague blankness plastered onto his face, devoid of expression as usual. Caius shook his head in disapproval at Aro's action. It seemed that Caius never really was fond of all of that Aro did, including his offer to let me sleep. He'd been noticeably unhappy when I'd said yes and I remembered him mumble something about "not knowing the risks" which had led Aro to actually glare, long and hard at him then.

Now, Aro came over to us, waving Nikolas aside, who swiftly stepped away and into a corner, assuming the pose of a bodyguard. I was left alone in the middle of the room, with Aro uttering loads of remarks which I couldn't quite catch because he was saying them as quickly as they popped into his head, but which seemed to imply that he was no doubt, pleased with me.

"The transformation went perfectly well! I'm amazed that they managed to get it right this time. Elizabeth, you look stunning!" He rambled on. A question came into my mind.

"How long was I asleep?" I had to know exactly how long it'd been. Aro's smile didn't waver.

"2 years, dear girl. The chamber accelerated your physical growth and transformed you!" He answered gleefully. I stared at him, my eyes possibly glazing over. It'd only been 2 years, and yet I resembled an adult now.

"The process was amazing! I was surprised at how effectively it worked for you, considering...the other attempts." His voice dropped off, and I grew suspicious in my look.

"What other attempts?" I pressed, curiously. Caius answered now.

"The other attempts to transform the other hybrids we found...such as..." Caius didn't finish the sentence and instead looked pointedly at Aro.

Aro sighed and his smile suddenly became fake. A chill ran through me. This was bad. Bad. "Elizabeth, you must understand that we didn't mean for it to happen. We still don't understand how it happened." His voice was sympathetic and pitiful. I stared at him in shock.

"What do you mean?" I demanded, my voice rising slightly. What was he talking about...no, babbling about now?

He gestured to Nikolas, who took my hand and led me after Aro, who had walked off in the direction of another door. He entered and we followed. Marcus and Caius sat still on their thrones, bored.

A blast of chillingly cold air hit me, and I shivered slightly. The room felt like a freezer. Which to my horror, I discovered...was exactly what it was...only it wasn't a freezer meant for food. It was meant for bodies. I started quivering as I saw a limp figure lying on a white capsule-like bed. The figure was perfectly still...as if he were dead. Denial flooded through me and the shaking grew worse...because it was COLIN. It was Colin, lying on the capsule bed, looking as if he were dead. I shook my head in defiance. He couldn't be. He just couldn't!

Nikolas squeezed my hand a little tighter and I knew he already understood what I was feeling. Aro stopped and shook his head, sad and resignedly. "It wasn't suppose to be like this. He should have woken up." His voice was hard. But it gave me hope.

"Is he...?" I couldn't finish the question, and Nikolas pulled me closer to him. Aro didn't look up, but he answered quietly: "No. He's still alive. But barely." I dropped to my knees, buckling from the wave of relief which enveloped me. There was still hope. Still a chance.

"Why didn't he wake up?" My voice was emotionless, and it rang in my ears like a bell. Aro glanced over at me and seemed to shrug with his eyes.

"We don't know." It was final and sincere. Colin just hadn't woken. He was in a comatose state...forever.

Why did he do it? Why did he agree to it? Why did he leave me? Why wouldn't he wake up? So I could just hug him and stay in his embrace forever like in the dream? Why?

I was pulled me to my feet and Aro swooshed out of the room, Nikolas guiding me, sadly. He had probably known all along about what had happened to Colin. That was why he was sad whenever he saw me. We came back to the throne room, where two more female vampires, both insanely beautiful with burgundy red eyes, were now standing in as well. They appraised me with some slight disdain but other than that, they seemed to hold respect for me. Which was surprising. But it was not something I could think about now.

Aro sat down on his throne and I was, once again, before them. Then, Marcus spoke. He was toneless in his speech but what he was saying was enough to capture my attention.

"Elizabeth Cullen, you have been enlisted into the service of the Volturi, willingly or unwillingly, you will do as we say." His voice was scary and commanding, not the type you would disobey.

"You are of the hybrid gene 905. Therefore, only you can defeat the hybrid army which is coming to attack us. Your kind was destroyed long ago for the very reason we need you. Your kind had an accidental built-in sense of betrayal in it. Your kind would have been the perfect hybrid, had you not been predicted to one day, revolt and turn against their creators. For that reason, all of your kind but you was destroyed. It is by pure fate that you were spared, and now you must fulfill your duty. You must fulfill your purpose." His voice was booming and the speech was continuous, not giving me time to think.

And before I could comprehend the meaning of what he'd said, I fainted and dropped to the cold, stone floor.