CHAPTER 11
Rory's laugh reverberated around the small clearing circled by mountains and next to a relatively small but gorgeously blue lake. We had found it just yesterday and decided to stay the night. I had no idea what time it was right now. The sky led me to think it was around six in the morning. I hadn't gotten a full night's sleep since we left. I just slept whenever I felt tired throughout the day for about two hours each interval.
"You're complaining about not showering, saying you smell bad," Rory said a brilliant smile plastered on his face. It had been like this often since we left, which was a week ago today. But occasionally he would get moody, remote, and randomly sad. I didn't know why. "But I don't think that you understand that you've never smelled better to me." He finished.
I let my eyes flick quickly and longingly to the lake. I hadn't wanted to go in last night when we arrived; I could see that the ice that had been glazed over the top was barely melted. But now it looked like a nice opportunity to bathe.
"You're not truly thinking about going in that are you?" Rory said his brows knitting together.
I could tell by his expression that he was trying to find in my mind if I was.
"You are!" he said astounded.
"I'm dirty!" I said in response.
"Yea, but I don't think being clean is worth dying of hypothermia." He retorted.
"Cleanliness is next to godliness." I said sarcastically smirking the giving him a swift kiss.
"I love you." He said.
He had been saying this too often. It always reminded me of the first night when he had explained that he loved me enough to do anything for me. That he wanted me to know that in case anything happened. I hadn't brought up the subject since.
"I love you too." I said.
I looked back to the lake.
"Do you really want to go in?" he said.
I nodded eagerly. He stood up and pulled me to a standing position. He took my hand and walked to the edge of the lake. He looked out across the blue expanse of not so turbulent waters. I bent down to touch the water. It was literally freezing and it sent a shock up my arm. But at the same time it felt refreshing.
"Are you sure?" Rory said again.
"Yes." I said.
"Fine, but don't let go of my hand, if you feel to cold or any thing just tell me and I'll get you out." He said.
"Okay…" I said antsily. I took a step towards the water. He tugged back on my arm, not hard enough to hurt but enough to stop my movement.
"What do you think your doing?" he said.
"I'm going in the water…" I said confused.
"Well, you might want to strip down a bit." He said. I blushed fiercely.
"What?!" I said completely astounded by his words.
"Well, you can keep you underwear and bra on, but otherwise, you won't have dry clothes to put on afterwards." He said smiling, and pretending to pinch my cheek. I sneered then self consciously let go of his hand and pulled off my clothes. I knew that it was just like being in a bikini but I felt embarrassed standing there in my not-so-gorgeous un-matching under things.
Rory had pulled off his shirt and jeans, I tried not to stare, but I was only human…for now.
I pulled on his hand as to rush him into the water.
Rory's hand felt warm in the icy water. My lungs immediately contracted once I was engulfed by the water. I took a deep breath and pushed my head under the surface, making sure to hold onto Rory's hand. I couldn't stay under for long. I pushed back to the top. And gasped for air. My teeth chattered, but I swam a bit closer to the middle of the lake.
I plunged my head back under the water and scrubbed my hair as best I could with one hand. When I came back up I was absolutely frozen.
"I-I'm ready to get out now." I said. Before I could blink, Rory was pulling me ashore. The less than frigid air felt like a nice temperature compared to the water. I just grabbed my jacket and pulled it around me, not bothering with the rest of my clothing, my muscles felt stiff.
He pulled his pants on then pulled me close to him. His smooth chest felt comfortable. We sat down, still enclosed in the embrace.
I looked up meeting his eyes with my own. They glowed brilliantly.
"I have to hunt soon." He said disappointedly.
"Why?" I asked. He looked down to me.
"I'm pretty sure I explained this to you a while ago." He said quizzically. "I drink animal blood." He said.
"I know, but what's the point in going?" I said.
"What do you mean? I'm hungry and I wouldn't want to let in to temptation and accidentally bite you." He said. I hadn't brought up the topic of when I would be changed, but now that he had.
"Well, if you're going to bite me you might as well do it now." I said. "And it wouldn't be an accident if you meant to." I added.
"Cassie, I would rather not talk about this right now."
"Why not?" I whined, pouting. "Today's the day that I was going to be changed anyway." I said. "Plus we could stop running away."
"Even if I did, I would still have to hunt first, so I didn't cave to temptation and drink all of your blood." He said.
"Fine, you can go. But will you change me when you get back?" I asked.
"No promises." He said. I scrunched my nose in distaste for his response.
I stretched up and kissed him on the lips. He immediately went rigid next to me. I moved back, I could see his jaw clenched.
"Are you trying to tempt me?" he asked. "The idea of your skin so close to my teeth is not good. You have to remember how delicious you smell to Me." he said smiling all the same.
"Even after I bathed, you think I smell good? You're too sweet." I said sarcastically.
He shifted a bit and I stood up. He did too.
"You really do look lovely now." He said. I turned and gave him a smile, before pulling on my clothing. After I had done that I moved over to him.
"So what are you going to do, just go find somewhere to go and find some wild animal? Do I stay here, or what?" I asked.
"Hmm," he said in concentration. "I'm not sure; I mean I think that you should be somewhere where I can't somehow get you. But I can only think of somewhere public, and you can't really be seen either."
He sat in contemplation.
"Okay, you stay here, I'll leave. I'll go far enough away that you won't be in danger." He said.
"Err, alright." I said. I moved closer to him as if to give him a kiss good-bye, but he raised his hand.
"I'd love to, but…I can't." he said. "I'll see you soon." He said. "I love you." And in a blur he was gone.
I moved over to a tree and sat against it. I slowly closed my eyes and drifted into a fitful sleep.
The blue eyes that looked down to me were menacing. The beautiful rainbow prisms that would have bounced off of the three vampires who stood in front of me were dulled to a mere glimmer by the white snow-clouds.
They looked down in an almost hungry way; I couldn't move, I was petrified.
"Cassandra I hope you enjoyed your little vacation." Aro said.
I woke up. I was afraid to open my eyes though. For the sound that had awoken me was the same of that in my dream. I did none the less.
I was met by the same scene I had just seen in my head. Aro, Marcus, and Caius looking down upon me.
My breath was stuck in my throat. I wanted to burst into tears right there. But a mixture of fear and adrenaline took over my body. I stood up, ready to run. The sky above me was a muted white, touched with gray and purple. Night was coming, but so was snow.
"What's going on here?" another wonderfully melodic voice called from behind the Volturi. None of them turned but Aro spoke.
"Hello Rory, why don't you join us?" he said. I couldn't hear any steps but I saw him come around the Volturi and walk over to me. He placed himself slightly in front of me.
"How are you two doing?" Aro said too casually for the situation.
"Fine." Rory answered stiffly.
"How-"I started but faltered when everyone's eyes turned to me. "How did you know where we were?" I asked.
"Smart question." Aro said, I would have taken it as a compliment in any other situation, and perhaps my brain was making this up but I heard a hint of menace in his words. "You remember meeting Demetri, don't you?"
I did, clearly. Not just because it had been a traumatic experience, but because with every time Aro spoke a new shot of adrenaline pulsed through my body. Causing me to be focused and see and remember things quickly. My muscles were ready to run. Not that I could out run a vampire.
"Demetri has a quite useful gift to us. He is a tracker." Aro said. I remembered Jill saying that she had used to be a tracker. "But it's different he can follow the drift or rather tenor of someone's mind. That way no matter how far away they are from him he can find them and know their every position." Aro said still calmly, his words flowing as if we were having a cup of coffee.
"If you've known where we were this whole time why didn't you just get us before?" Rory asked slightly angry, his words muffled by a clenched jaw.
"Well, we said that Cassandra would be changed December 31st so changing her or bringing her back any earlier…there would just be no point." Aro said. My face was stuck in a disgusted scowl. That was just sick. Letting us dangle like that, thinking that we had gotten away, but we hadn't.
Aro, Marcus, and Caius converged on us a bit, forcing me to press my self against the tree in an attempt to keep the distance between us.
"We might as well do this now." Aro said, taking another step closer.
"No!" I had intended to say this but it was Rory who said it. He bared his teeth and let out a growl.
"You don't really think you can beat us in a fight do you?" asked Caius condescendingly.
Rory growled again. I saw a barely visible change of stance between the Volturi.
"Wait." I said, my voice shaking. I hushed my voice as best I could. "Rory why can't you just change me?" I asked. Instead of Rory answering it was Aro.
"I guess you can but we would have to stay here the entire time, watch. To make sure that you truly did. Until the transformation is over, then we would let you go." He finished.
I turned to Rory and tried to make eye contact with him but he was keeping his from my own. I silently willed him with all my might to take the offer.
"no." he said. I stood appalled.
"Why?" I asked frantically my voice cracking.
"I can't." he said.
"You were going to anyway!" I shouted in hysteria. He was silent, tears started to build in my eyes.
"I'd do anything to protect you, anything except that." He said. I turned back to the Volturi.
The adrenaline that had earlier cleared my mind was gone. I suddenly felt empty, my mind in a hazy state. I could hear Rory arguing with Aro but I wasn't actually taking in any of their words. I slipped behind the tree. The talking stopped.
"Get her back here." Aro said, I wasn't sure who he directed the command to though.
"No." Rory said defiantly.
"Fine," Aro said. "Marcus?" he asked. My heart stopped momentarily in fear.
Rory let out a growl.
"We should just deal with him first." Caius said. "It's not as if she can get too far." And before the commotion broke out I was sure I heard Rory say
"Run Cassie."
My legs reacted faster than my mind. I was running as fast as I could, tripping over branches and bushes. My heart pounded out an unsteady rhythm in my chest. Snow was starting to fall giving me the strange sensation of being freezing and sweating at the same time.
The snow covered the ground thickly and quickly, soaking through my shoes and socks.
My lungs were starting to burn, my throat felt like sand paper. But I knew that I couldn't stop running.
Rory was risking everything just to let me get away. But at the same time I was upset. It hurt thinking that he had lied to me and wasn't ever going to change me.
Each step I took my feet hit the ground harder, clumsier.
The more I thought about Rory, the more my heart ached, the more my vision blurred from tears.
The farther I ran the more my muscles screamed.
But I moved on, not bothering to stop and rest, for I knew the moment that I did I wouldn't be able to move anymore. And I had to get away. There was only one thing that stopped me. And it did so right in my tracks. I didn't slow until I was at a stop, it was just a sudden change.
"Cassandra, there's no point in running any more." Aro said. I turned coldly to face him. My stomach dropped. Where was Rory. I could only think of one logical explanation. That he was dead.
If he was gone there was no way that I was just going to let myself be changed, and have to live forever without him. I went to turn around, but behind me was Caius. My mind was in frenzy, I started to panic; turning every which way. They were on each side of me.
I wasn't thinking logically, I tried running to the nearest opening between them.
Aro grabbed me hard by the sides of my arms. I started to kick and scream. I flailed my arms, but it was no use.
It was like I was watching in slow motion, as Aro bared his teeth, and moved closer to my neck. The seconds passing too slowly, my anticipation rendering me lost for any ideas of how to escape.
But when his teeth did connect with my skin I was immediately put into excruciating pain. At first it was as if fire was being blown through my veins. I was sure I was going to die, until the pain changed it became more like my organs decided to shut down and leave me. I was suddenly having trouble breathing, moving, listening.
Aro let go of me. But my legs were numb, I dropped to the ground, I couldn't even feel the cold of the snow.
I could hear a bit of commotion and then a voice. Almost wonderful enough to push away the pain.
I heard Rory's voice.
Either I was dead or he was alive.