Capturing Destiny

Chapter Thirteen

Washington

Eventually I made it to Washington DC, the city was vast, sprawling and I could sit for hours simply watching men scurry in to and out of the large government buildings. It was also where I met my first friend.

So far in my second life I had managed to avoid any other vampires, it had not been intentional, I just had not come across any so when I had the vision of a small, burgundy eyed girl walking down the street I had practically danced with excitement. I went through our meeting over and over again in my head, trying to work out the best way to approach her without seeming aggressive – if I did it at the wrong time it would be disastrous, she would attack me and I would defend myself, we would both survive, probably, but I would never get the information I wanted about her.

Eventually I found a method that had the best chances statistically of working. I would leave my scent in various places I knew she would go before actually waiting somewhere for her, she would recognise the scent method of communication and would be less likely to run and the open location I had chosen would mean she would know I was not looking for a fight.

When I was not planning my first proper vampire meeting or exploring the depths of the city by night I was spending more time trying to search for the diner. I looked through all the records I could find and listed the cities, searched the local galleries for paintings or even photos of the places in question but I was unable to take many of them off the growing list, even if I kept moving constantly it could easily take me another thirty years to find it.

Eventually the day came, it was overcast but warm – perfect vampire weather and I had positioned myself of a bench across from the White House, waiting till the light was just right before turning to the end of the street and watching. It was one of my favourite spots in the city, a centre of the country for both humans and vampires alike.

I saw her before she saw me; my visions had not done her justice. She was beautiful, as all of our kind seemed to be, taller than me and older both in this life and her last. Her hair was long and thick, a rich brown colour with hints of red and golden running through it. Her skin was deathly white, her eyes large, a deep burgundy colour that showed it had been a couple of days since she had last fed. Her mouth was small, with heart shaped red lips.

She noticed me quickly but she hid her shock well and I could see her calculating the situation, deciding on her next move. It was like a massive game of chess, I saw her decisions in split second images as she made them, her first thought was to run but I knew if she did that I would not see her again. I smiled softly, hoping she would realise I did not mean any harm. Her mind then jumped to attacking me, taking out a rival for food, she was quick and her style was beautiful but my ability would save me, although I would be badly injured.

Subconsciously I raised my hands in a motion of surrender; I did not want to fight her, I was not a rival, I just needed information, information I knew she could give me.

Eventually she came to a decision and began to move slowly towards me, her movements were steady and carefully calculated, her escape plan was sure in her mind. I sat back as she got closer, relaxing my body as flashes of us talking, walking through a large building I did not recognize flew though my head.

"Washington is not a territory, you cannot claim it," her voice was hard, and I could feel her eyes appraising me carefully. I realised my mistake quickly and opened my eyes.

"I am not trying to claim the territory, I'm sorry if I gave the wrong impression, I am merely passing by as you are," I looked up at her, my golden eyes meet her red and she stepped back.

"You are an animal drinker," she gazed intently at me. "Are you part of Carlisle's coven or that of the Denali's?"

I was surprised by her question, it was an odd experience, it was so rare for me to surprised and I wasn't sure if I liked it.

"I don't think I know either of them..." I answered lamely.

"Then how did you know you could survive on animal blood?" her voice was demanding, insistent.

"I don't know... I just knew," I stammered, this was not going as I hoped at all, I did not want to explain my visions to her, although I could see now that nothing would come of it if I did. Maybe in the future, if we meet again...

I was expecting more questioning but it never came, instead the bench dipped next to me as she sat down.

"I'm sorry, I'm going about this all wrong, it's just it isn't often I meet, you know, others, the last was a group of three travelling north from Mexico a couple of years ago, and well, let's just say we were all lucky to walk away. I didn't know quite what to say when I saw you."

I couldn't help but smile, her accent was slightly British and lilted beautifully, I couldn't help a warm smile from covering my face.

"Don't worry about it; I probably went about this all wrong. I've never actually met another," I lowered my voice to whisper, "vampire, before. I didn't really know what to do."

Her laughter tinkled, it was like bells, "You're a peach, you know that. I'm Mary."

Something flickered in my subconscious, the name Mary, but I glossed over it to consider later.

"Alice," I said, reaching out my hand and taking her offered one.

"So, how old are you? Only a couple of years, right?" she looked appraisingly at me.

"I don't know how old I am, I can't remember anything from before... but I'm pretty sure I was more than a couple of years old," I answered, confused.

"Oh no, not how old you were before, how many years have you been like this?" She motioned towards to two of us vaguely.

"I don't know, five, six years I guess. Time didn't mean a lot for the first couple but it's been better recently."

"And your sire? Isn't he here with you?" She looked carefully around again as though worried of a trap.

"I never met him – I found his remains not long after I woke," I looked sadly at my hands.

"Well you've done pretty well by yourself if you have managed to keep off the Volturi's radar," she looked approvingly at me.

"The Volturi?" for the first time since those first few days I felt clueless.

"They're out government in a way, they were never voted in like your president," she motioned to the White House sitting across from us. "They're a coven, but they like to think themselves as something of the royal family for vampires, they make sure that we follow the rules, if you do then you will probably never have to deal with them."

"And what are the rules?" I was suddenly desperately worried, what if I had done something wrong without even knowing?

"There is only one, but it encompasses a number of things, but it's pretty simple. Don't let the humans know we exist."I sighed in relief.

"Well that seems pretty elementary," I commented.

"It is but it isn't, it means a variety of things for each of us, we all cover our tracks when we kill, when we sire someone you must stay with them for the first few years to ensure their tracks are covered, to keep them under control, in the south there are huge issues with vampire wars over hunting grounds, the larger cities are best avoided if you don't want a group of well-trained newborns after you, and at the end of their usefulness, when their strength begins to wane they are killed and a new group created. And it means never creating a vampire that is not aware of its own actions. Generally you must not create anyone under the age of fifteen or sixteen, although the Volturi themselves have twins who cannot be more than 13 but any younger than that they are entirely uncontrollable. Oh and people who, you know, aren't right in the head."

My mind processed all of this new information and I realised I was not surprised by it at all, in fact I had pretty much worked it all out on my own.

"But surely people know to do these things themselves? They shouldn't need told of it," I turned to see her nodding.

"Aye, but unfortunately the power can go to some peoples head," I nodded sadly. "Anyway, it's getting late, we should start moving to avoid suspicion, c'mon, I'll give you a tour of the Library of Congress you will never forget," and with that, as though we were human friends, she linked arms with me and began dragging me down the streets.

My memories of the next few days were sweet, we travelled around the city, breaking in to see areas that no one had seen before, I was shown artwork that blew my mind, recommended enough books to spend the next several years wearing but too soon we had to part ways.

"It isn't anything personal, love, I've had a lovely time with you, and I hope we bump into one another again in the future but I just can't be around other vampires for too long without getting antsy." And with that she was gone.

I spent another month in Washington, completing my research into South 3rd Street until I had a list of every single one in the country and then I began travelling again.

A/N: So... let me know what you think! Wasn't too sure about this chapter but I thought it would be nice for Alice to have some downtime. Next chapter should be up tomorrow, it's kind of heavy so apologies now. Thanks again for all the support guys!