Illusion and Confusion

I span around, my lips pulling over my teeth, a snarl building in my throat.

The vampire was small, around my height, 5'3" ft; he had black eyes and dark-brown hair, and he looked like an easy target— easy for a newborn like me to take down, that is.

He looked startled, although I couldn't blame him. What looked human, smelt human and had a heartbeat making completely in-human sounds and gestures, and I guessed that he knew I was going to attack him.

Be careful, Cautioned one part of my mind, the rational part. He may be a member of the Volturi.

But I didn't care; it probably didn't help that my mother had raised me to distrust men, that with my father being a horrid un-gentlemanly adulterer.

I leapt at him, teeth bared, knocking him—and myself— flying into a tree.

He growled at me, hitting me backwards, causing an instinctual snarl to force its way through my throat.

There was a mist-like substance—that I hadn't noticed before—that had formed on the ground, and it was slowly approaching me. I wondered briefly if the mist was the boy's gift, and what it did, and I pondered why Vladimir and Stefan hadn't told me about him, if he was a member of the Volturi, I mean.

What if it was dangerous? I created three duplicates of myself, and swapped places with them repeatedly. Hopefully that would confuse the mist and its conjurer.

The vampire certainly looked baffled, even if the mist launched at me, the actual me.

My legs buckled underneath me and I fell to the ground.

What I expected was pain, and what I got was a numb sensation, a dulling of senses. Before no time, I couldn't see, hear, feel or smell anything. I was alone in blackness.

The last thing I felt was my illusions dropping.

Sometime Later

My senses came back to me slowly first, I could only hear things slightly, they sounded like human memories.

After a few moments I head a voice.

"Alec, how much longer will it take?" An enthusiastic, yet impatient, voice asked.

"Give the poor boy a rest." A female vampire said, irritated.

For some reason I suddenly felt happy, very happy. I remembered that Vladimir had said that there was the wife of Marcus—Didyme—who had an aura of happiness surrounding her, that if you were in the same room as her you were instantly happy. I guessed that Didyme was in the room and it was her happiness that was thawing through the numbness.

"By my guess, Master," Said who I presumed was Alec slowly; I realized he was the vampire I had attacked in the forest, "a few more minutes."

He was right, my sense of smell was returning, although slowly, and my eyesight was coming back. I could make out dark figures hovering over me, looking down at me.

"Can you read her yet, brother?" A voice that somehow reminded me of my mother—which seemed impossible because her voice was high pitched and had an Italian accent whereas my mother's voice was low and Russian accented— questioned. Part of my mind noted that she must have been Didyme, her voice was too happy to be Sulpicia or Athenodora, from what Vladimir and Stefan had told me.

My mother, I missed my mother.

"Yes, she shall come round soon."

Thank lord for that! I was getting impatient; it was annoying, not being able to see, smell or hear properly, my main defenses were out and if they attacked me I'd have no warning.

"What is her purpose?" Another male asked; his voice full of suspicion.

"She wishes to join the guard, and we shall accept. She is powerful." He must have been Aro, the way he said powerful confirmed it.

"What is her power, master?" Asked a chiming voice, I strained my eyes to try and see the speaker.

"She is an illusionist." Aro said.

"She must hunt first if she is to join our guard." said a dreary, feminine, voice.

"I'm surprised that she was able to avoid feeding for so long, she is a newborn." Aro said matter-of-factly.

My eyesight was getting better, I could even make out three what three of the figures looked like, even though I was surrounded by eight; one had black hair, one had brown hair and one had blond hair.

"It isn't impossible for a newborn to abscond from feeding, Aro," Said the blond-headed figure. "I should know."

Aro chuckled. "Yes, I know, Carlisle."

Carlisle… Vladimir and Stefan hadn't told me about a Carlisle. Was he dangerous?

I squinted, trying to get a better look at him, and a strange noise came from somewhere near my nose, I thought it was a gasp… Had I gasped?

Indeed I had, my eyesight was almost back completely now, same as with my other senses, but it was what I saw which had made me gasp; Carlisle's eye colour.

They weren't red, or black, like I had come to expect, but they were gold.

That could only mean one thing; he was, like me, an illusionist, which was the reason why Vladimir and Stefan hadn't told me about him, they had knew I would run away and try to join the Volturi and that if I couldn't, I'd go and crawl back to them, on both knees, begging for forgiveness and to be let back in… and oh how right they were.

Aro chuckled again, earning a confused look from Carlisle, "Carlisle is no illusionist, my young friend."

Carlisle raised an eyebrow. "Pardon?"

"Anamaria was under the—if you will forgive the expression—illusion that you were an illusionist, Carlisle."

Carlisle blinked, twice, and a short, seemingly shocked, laugh escaped his lips.

"I'm no illusionist."

I wanted to sit up and assess who may be a possible threat, but I was surrounded, and to sit up in such a tight space would not be a good idea, as any sudden movement might have triggered hostility.

Reading my mind, Aro motioned for everyone to back away from where I was laying.

I sat up slowly, my eyes darting across everybody.

Carlisle, the one with the gold eyes, he didn't look like a threat, but he probably could be, if he had a power, and if he liked violence.

Aro was no threat, as he did not like fighting, it was the tall, brown-haired vampire next to him, Demetri, if I remember Stefan saying correctly, that I was worried about, he was tall and muscled, he actually reminded me of a character in a book I had read, I couldn't actually remember the name, but if I think he was a psychopathic killer. Nice.

Caius was defiantly a threat, the sight of him was enough to see that. He looked as if he was dying to sink his teeth into my neck and rip my head off. I did not want that to happen any time soon

The wives looked to pose no threat, except Didyme, with Marcus slightly crouched in front of her. Aro didn't seem to mind the fact that it was only Alec protecting Sulpicia, and if Alec failed, I could kill his wife.

I didn't plan to, however, as I was out numbered hugely.

Aro grinned widely and looked over to Demetri, "Anamaria will need to refresh herself, and there are no... spare rooms, so she'll have to take yours."

Didyme looked at me sympathetically, and said quietly: "Brother, I think I should be the one to show her to her room."

Aro frowned. "But why, sister? I'm sure she and Demetri will get on perfectly fine!"

I snook a glance at Demetri, he had his head tilted to the side slightly, and his nose was wrinkled.

"I believe she shall settle in better if she has a friend of the same gender to introduce her to Volterra." Didyme said softly.

Aro let out a sigh, and placed his hand on Demetri's arm. He let out an over-joyed laugh.

"Perfect, perfect! I never thought anyone would have such a strong mental trail!" He patted Demetri on the shoulder, almost like he was encouraging him to do something.

Demetri shifted uncomfortably. "I suppose she has a strong mind, master."

"Nonsense!" Aro laughed again, but this laugh seemed to hold a command, a warning. "Her mind is not at all that strong to me. It's just her to you. Marcus, bonds?"

Marcus reluctantly went over to stand near Aro, pulling his wife gently along with him, always keeping her as far away from me as possible.

Aro grabbed Marcus' hand and then grinned wider.

"We are in luck." He concluded. "That is a strong bond, already there, it is so promising!"

"Brother," Didyme urged. "May it be I who is to show our newest member around Volterra?"

Aro shrugged. "If it must be, sister."

Didyme squeezed Marcus' hand, gave him a reassuring smile and then skipped over to where I was standing.

"Hello," She smiled brightly, not showing her teeth... obviously she was trying not to appear aggressive. "My name is Didyme."

I found myself feeling happy, deliriously so.

"Hello," I smiled back shyly. "My name's Anamaria."

Didyme linked her arm with mine, and tilted her head in the direction of some stairs.

"Shall we?"

"Yes." I nodded.

We began to walk.

"Anamaria is a lovely name," She said thoughtfully. "Did your mother think it up?"

I bit my lip as I thought of my mother, yet I couldn't feel sad in Didyme's presence. "She did."

"Do you have an alias?" Didyme asked.

I shook my head.

"How do you feel about Ana?" She asked.

"Only if I can call you 'Dye'" I joked.

Didyme grinned. "Excellent."