And somewhere, in some impossible turn of fate, a somersault of fate, it remembered. My life didn't come flashing back to me, but I knew it wouldn't be like that. Standing there, and hearing that reminder, I saw my past life. It was groggy, and faces were unclear, but I knew it was MY life.
I saw a glimpse of my mother, from what Carlisle told me. She was clearer than the others. I saw her holding my hand as a child, and her crying over a table, her smiling, and then the image changed. Something distant, tall, or maybe because I was young; my father must be this memory. I couldn't make out a face. And then there was Alexandra…or something like it. A girl, walking on the streets of Chicago…and then they stopped.
"Well, that was amusing to watch." Alexandra commented, "it reminded me of The Exorcist meets Madame Cleo."
"Wha-What happened?" I asked, still wishing I could jump back into the past. Never had I known so much, and all in a few seconds. It felt secure, sound, knowing my past. What I was, where I came from. If only for a moment, I was stable again.
"To you? Influenza. To me? I was like this far before you came along. I visited you twice in the ward, only because I didn't trust that doctor. No wonder he thought you were alone. I didn't save you. I wouldn't have wanted to be saved myself, so I could hardly put you in a predicament…I put the ring back on your mother's hand. The next day, you were dead." She said it all so bluntly, as if this wasn't remotely traumatic.
It was too much to take in, but for the meantime, I did completely forget the current love of my life. Me? Proposing? It seemed so queer how you could be in love with someone and not remember a thing. I tried to focus on what Alexandra was thinking…and all I got was short images, a cross, fire, laughing…
"D'you mind?"
"What?" I asked, even more confused. Maybe she was lying…
"Reading my mind. I can tell, and it actually gives me a little headache."
"Oh. That's…"
"Unusual. I'm special that way." She looked confident in her special-ness. Did she have a power? Besides from looking like a vampire…Before I could ask, she went on, and I quickly labeled her as interruptive, "I'm mental too, I just. Humm, I have a tendency to persuade people into what I want to do. Predatory thing, but I can do it to vamps, anyone. I don't know how I know what you're doing. Magic I suppose."
She started walking towards the forest. "What're you doing?" I asked, and she just signed me to follow. I can't believe for the second time, I'm following her, but I guess her 'skill' made sense of the matter, almost.
I could see that the sun was starting to rise, and I would be lounging in the forest all day. How pleasant, I thought to myself, spending all day reliving your most painful memories. What if she wants to start where we stopped off? No, she couldn't love me. She walked away from my death…it couldn't make sense.
"So why did you stop tracking me then?" I asked, if only to make conservation. She'd probably say she got bored or something.
"I was-er, attacked, more or less. I managed to sneak away. I had to be more careful after that." She continued walking through the foliage as if it was just a story, not relevant at all. She didn't seem fazed.
"Why? I mean, why you? Did you do anything, or something?"
She sighed, and I could finally tell this was a sore topic, "I was gifted, I was pretty, I was new. Does the specific matter?" She sounded agitated by this point, and we continued on for a bit.
I just couldn't stop the questions though, "You don't have to answer but, when you changed-"
She looked back at me, and her face looked as if she'd survived a horror movie, her face was grim, almost bracing itself for the sequel. "I was stupid, I was pretty, and I was even more stupid. Spain, 1600's, Inquisition."
She didn't like being one of us, this was clear. But then, who would like it? I did…but, not anymore. That was better for all involved.
We stopped an hour later, walking in silence. Right in front of a large spring, Alexandra sat down on a rock. "By the way, my real name is Angela. When you knew me I went by Carmen, actually. Call me whatever, stupid works."
"Why did the Volturi really attack you?" I blurted out.
"How did I not know you would ask? Of all the things to say…" She looked wistful.
"It's just, I don't trust them either and it would make sense-"I was trying to explain, but she cut me off.
"Truthfully? It is a long story, but they're common in Spain so here you go. My name was Angela, I was the daughter of a wealthy Duke in the Aragon area. I was one of seven children, my mother died shortly after from the plague.
"I was the pretty daughter, the father's favorite. I was a devout Catholic, and during the Inquisition, that was not a bad thing to be. The church was near enough to my home, an hour in a carriage, half an hour on horseback. I lived at the church.
I don't know what I saw exactly. I kept trying to make bets with God…but anyway, one night I stayed at the church late. I normally came home at sundown, but it was dark when I left the building. I knew that it might be dangerous. I had trust in God, like I said, I was foolish.
"I was riding the horse, halfway there, in the middle of my father's large ranch property. Something jumped at me, I was bitten, and I was left." Angela sounded resentful, as if she wanted to meet this attacker.
"But you were a new born, you didn't go crazy?" She must've attacked someone, newborns were risky, dangerous. If she'd attacked her own family…no wonder she was bitter.
"I did. I killed everyone in sight; my family, my father, and my siblings, the priest, too." She sighed, and her eyes looked worn, she lived too much for one lifetime.
"I ran away, and went east with the inquistadores. I managed to control myself, and when I was in Italy I met up with the Volturi. They wanted me to stay with them, I refused, I couldn't live so close to Rome, being reminded of all the sins I committed.
"I went to the new world, which was like exile. I stayed in Brazil, mainly. I found others of our kind in the area, but I always stayed away. I deserved my penance of isolation, but then the Volturi came after me. It was fairly quick, their tracker-"
"Demetri." I spat bitterly, and Angela nodded grimly.
"Tried to kidnap me, drag me off. I killed the one female, and one of the leaders got upset."
"You killed Marius' wife! They said it was in a battle, long ago. Are you insane?" Of course it made sense now, her murder would make the Volturi want to kill her, instead of her joining them.
"I know that now, believe me. They were scared of me after that, that's why they said it was a battle. It was in 1696, so it was long ago. They want to kill me now, and Marius is very bitter. They couldn't track me after that though; I kept to the ocean where they couldn't smell the scent."
Angela bent down and wiped her hands off in the water. "I never found my attacker. I think once, I thought I smelled him somewhere in Morocco."
"And me? Where did I come in all this mess?" I asked, her life was so full of tribulations that it seemed impossible she had time to open her heart again.
"You were the first. But don't feel special or anything, I was pretending to be an immigrant, and I was mugged, you helped me out. You were a newsboy." She laughed, "I think I still have your hat somewhere."