Have A Little Faith
Chapter Eleven: The Impossible
"Addison!" Demetri called once more, hopelessly, as he and Felix chased her. It felt so wrong; hunting Addison. They'd been tracking her for an hour to no avail; she was faster.
"Any idea where she's going?" Felix asked when they finally came to a sigh.
"I have a theory," Demetri said, an aching in his chest.
"And?"
"And what?" Demetri snapped.
"What's the theory? Where's she going?"
Demetri remained silent for a few breaths, and then he said,
"I think she's going to the Cullens."
Felix blinked. "Why the fuck would she be going to them? She's never even met them and she's risking her life for them and betraying us?"
"...Sort of." Demetri said. He was uncomfortable and this just felt so wrong. He felt like he was betraying Addison and not the other way around. And it was wrong, he knew that. Felix and him had never been particularly close. Not really. And here he was endangering the woman he loved's life by spilling these secrets. As he thought on it, it made less and less sense. He was loyal to the Volturi, yes. But why should he have to give up everything for them? What have they ever done for him? He'd risked his life working for them and he'd never gotten anything in return other then the feeling that he had a purpose.
Demetri felt oddly empowered. As if he had been repressing these thoughts for centuries and now, finally, they were able to surface. Addison owed them nothing. If anything, he owed her everything he had, when he thought on it. She'd come to the Volturi, seeking life, and she'd set him free in doing so.
Demetri straightened; he knew what he had to do.
"What?" Felix asked, unaware of his fate as Demetri turned to face him.
"I'm sorry, Felix."
And with that, he severed his ties to the only home he had known.
.oOo.
Aro sat in a small cottage just within the border of Washington state. He was waiting... waiting for news...
Just then, the heavy footsteps of three beings, inhuman yet one was some what clumsy, made their way into the borrowed home. Aro's eyes widened at the sight: Alec was in the lead with Corin behind him and last was Santiago. And in Santiago's arms were the shredded pieces, moving in struggle, of Felix.
Words could not express his emotions as he stared at his Guard. Santiago crouched, attempting to repair Felix as if he were a jigsaw puzzle, as Alec began to explain.
"We chased them, Felix and Demetri, across the border. We weren't sure if we were entirely correct, it's been so long since any of us tracked without Demetri's assistance, but then we smelled them. Felix's blood, we were sure, was on the air. We had to root up the tree to get him out."
Aro was at a loss for words.
"And Demetri?" He finally asked. His best tracker, he couldn't be dead...
"He wasn't there, his scent led off in a different direction."
Aro blinked.
"His scent? Only his scent?"
"Yes," Alec confirmed.
"I don't understand. What could this-?"
"Then let me enlighten you, master," Came Felix's strained voice. Santiago had just put it back in place on his neck with his torso partway finished.
"We stopped just off the highway," Felix recited at Aro's gesture for him to speak. "Everything was fine, so I didn't expect... Anyway, Demetri was talking about how he thought Addison was headed for the Cullens-"
"The Cullens? But that makes no sense! Addison has never even met the Cullens! Why would she committ such an act of treason for strangers when we are her family?"
"Demetri didn't get that far before he had a change in heart."
Everyone stopped what they were doing to look a Felix. Santiago alone remained moving, helping to reattach Felix's limbs.
"Felix... Who did this to you?" Aro asked, breaking the bemused silence.
"Demetri, master." Felix said, without any hesitation. "Demetri was the one who attacked me. His loyalty is not with us anymore."
"It's with Addison," Aro said to himself. And, for the first time, he looked back over his thoughts on the sweet immortal he had welcomed into his Guard. He had been so happy that she had survived to join them. Now, however, he wished with his entire being that Felix had ripped her apart.
.oOo.
Addison stood towards the very top of the tree where she had saught shelter. There was something familiar about this tree that dragged her to it. Something she couldn't quite place, but it felt like... like she'd been here before.
Wary of every little movement and sound, she gazed at the ground so far below her feet, her dark cloak billowing with the breeze. She paid it no mind; she was too busy listening for another sound: the sound of inhumanly fast footsteps and a swishing cloak.
She wasn't certain about where she was headed to now. Hopefully the Cullens would come and find her and let her explain. Edward read minds, right? He'd know if she was lying, which she wouldn't be, and things would be all right. Hopefully.
She felt so lost, yet whole at last in this tree top amongst birds and squirrels and the sun and the Earth. She felt as if she'd finally reached her destination after traveling all her life. She was terrified, certainly, about the consequences of her actions. But she couldn't regret it. Life just felt right to her at this moment. She was doing what she was meant to be doing, what she should have done at the very beginning... However, as perfect as this felt to her, she couldn't help but notice that there was something missing.
Demetri.
Demetri who she loved, but didn't love her back. If she could cry, she would, without any hesitation or any attempt to smother it. She did cry tearless sobs, however, sitting here, thinking about her broken heart and how the man, or rather, vampire, she loved was coming for her, but not for love or anything of the sort. He was coming for her death.
Her sobs echoed around her, but she didn't care. She wanted to get it all out, the pain that had been bottled up inside her all these years, and these last few months. The pain that she felt within her when she took the life of another. She had to stop. She needed to put an end to it no matter how dreadful or unpreferable the alternative was, she would take it. Finally, she was alive within, and she owed it all to Demetri. He'd found her, told her of the way out. She owed him everything. And she would have given him her heart, if he had wanted it.
Suddenly, she broke off her sobs. Footsteps... too fast to be human... the swishing of a cloak... And then silence. She waited, listening for the voice of whoever was below her, whoever it was, she didn't care to see. Unless, of course, if it was-
"I am not here to punish you." Demetri called up quietly. "I have come to make an offer."
Addison didn't reply. Her heart ached terribly at his words of kindness.
Despite her better judgment, she called down, "What kind of an offer?"
"My loyalty no longer lies with the Volturi, Addison. It lies with you. I was hoping you would take me."
Her heart throbbed with emotion. He was going to kill her; playing with her like this.
"That's not a very good offer. You could easily be luring me to my death."
Demetri's laughter echoed up to her, carried by the wind.
"I do not lure people to their death, Addison."
"No," Addison said, "That's Heidi's job."
"If I wanted you dead, Addison-"
"You would have attacked by now?"
"How could I? You're too far up. No, I meant that you could stop me. Or have you forgotten about your own ability?"
"I haven't."
"Then come down," said Demetri, "I could not hurt you if it meant my own death if I refused to upon an order."
"That's what you want me to think."
But, of course, she leapt downwards, dropping down to a branch much lower, much closer to him.
Upon seeing her, he stared at her for a moment or two before smiling.
"I was told you had heard stories of the Volturi's wickedness."
"I have, and on numerous occasions."
"They are mostly true."
Addison blinked in surprise.
"My pardon?"
"Yes," He replied, leaning against a tree and watching her carefully. "The Volturi's history is filled with Aro's desire for acquisition and the fear of another's conquest, stealing his title as leader of the immortal world. His motive is power. His desires are all about power. His entire world is about it, Addison."
Addison was taken aback at this turn in conversation.
After a pause, she spoke, "Why are you telling me this now? It's not really helping your cause, you know."
"I thought I had already mentioned it. My loyalty no longer lies with the Volturi."
"... I don't understand."
"Does it really matter now?" He said, moving towards her slowly and hesitantly, afraid of scaring her away. "You want to speak to the Cullens, correct?"
"Yes, but-"
"You want to warn them. To help them. To set yourself free from your own guilt."
"Yes, but-"
"Our time is limited for answers, Addison. I have a feeling that I have only made matters worse..." He glanced over his shoulder, as if waiting for someone to come barrelling towards them to kill them before they had a chance.
"But how can I trust you, considering?"
Demetri's nervous expression shifted, and he began to laugh.
"Ah, Addison, my love," He said, and she blinked in surprise at the words. "It is about time you started to have a little faith."
Addison's shocked expression melted away, and soon she was grinning, too. She leapt down from her position in the trees and into Demetri's arms. At long last, they both heard the words they had been waiting for, the words they had never expected to hear from one another. They were spoken in unison. Somehow, it seemed appropriate. For the rest of their lives, no matter how long or short, would be spent together.
"I love you."
A/N: Sorry about any grammatical/ spelling errors in this chapter. I wanted to get this out for you all tonight, 'cause my father's a retard and he turns into a total computer Nazi on Sundays. Anyways... I hope you enjoyed it and I hope that you liked it. Once again, I'd like to thank you for all of your reviews and for all of you have favorited the story or put it on story alert or added me as a favorite author or put me on your author alert lists. That means so much to me, your encouragement is my motivation.
As for the story, I have a clear view of the direction its going in. I'm not so sure how much longer it will take, that's not too clear. I've really enjoyed writing about Addison and Demetri so far, I'm happy with them so the story might be longer or maybe I'll do a sequel... Yada. I haven't figured that part out yet. Anyway, don't count on updates this quick again; unless, of course, I don't get much homework on Monday and I have some inspiration to work with. Well, I think I'll post the chapter now...
Hope you're all well!