DISCLAIMER – The Twilight saga and all the characters mentioned in it are the undisputed property of Stephanie Myers. This story was written entirely for non-profit and the sheer love of the series and its memorable characters. Spoilers are included from pretty much included for every single book associated with Twilight. Proceed with caution if you haven't read everything, particularly The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner.

I hope everyone enjoys reading as much as I enjoyed writing. Naturally, feedback is always appreciated but never demanded.

I'd like to dedicate this chapter to Racheakt for the amazing playlist he complied in honor of both Bree and Alec's tales. The tracks are incredibly fitting to the characters and story thus far and I tip my hat to Racheakt by enjoying his fine taste in music while writing this chapter.

The (Not So) Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

By: Oy! Angelina

_Chapter 9_

Building Better Bastards

"Alright then - tell me something about you that I don't know," I said to Alec.

Thus far, all I knew about Alec was confined to him having a psychopath for a sister, he frequently destroyed vampires at the request of his coven, was apathetic towards human life and was seriously begging for a restraining order with the stunt he pulled so we could talk out our seemingly endless differences. Although I agreed not to dwell on these fun facts I held out little hope that I would be reinstating the BFF Club anytime soon.

I watched Alec debate what response to offer me. I couldn't call it stalling since Alec was older than me by a few centuries and that was bound to give him an ample amount of personal trivia. Nonetheless, he seemed like he was over-thinking a simple question so I helped him out.

"What do you do for fun? Like hobbies and such," I prompted.

"I like to reconstruct medieval torture devices and vandalize crypts," Alec volunteered cheerfully.

I gaped at him until a tingle at the front of brain noted the insincerity of his statement. After that, I gave an embarrassed chuckle for believing Alec, if only for an instant. It made me aware of low my opinion was of Alec and that – possibly – it was a little too harsh.

"Okay, seriously," I insisted.

"Seriously, I rarely have much free-time to speak of so my hobbies are few and far between," Alec said, shrugging. "What can I say? I'm married to my work."

I pursed my lips skeptically. "Come on. I refuse to believe your every waking hour is focused on being an accessory to murder and preventing mayhem."

"And what's so wrong with mixing business with pleasure?" asked Alec. As happy as I was Alec hadn't decided to take offense to my off-handed remark he didn't have to seem quite so amused by how I summed up his work experience. "Yes, I do have a few interests outside my service to the Volturi, although I'm not sure they would enthrall such a…modern girl."

I wondered whether "modern" was Alec's polite way of calling me too young or too immature to appreciate his oh-so deep nature and hobbies. "Try me."

"Very well. For entertainment, I often attend operas and visit museums," Alec waved his hand idly as he catalogued his leisure time. "Cinema and theatre occasionally hold my interest, though I find ballet too clumsy to enjoy. I like books but, after so many years, I'm hard-pressed to find worthwhile material since I've read everything worth reading. And, every so often, I will sit a university lecture and snicker over the humans' grasp of history and literature."

"You know, you were setting up a nice 'cultured and worldly' vibe until you mentioned the part about heckling teachers and humiliating their students," I said with a snort.

"What can I say? It's a guilty pleasure," said Alec, unabashed. "You'll see the humor in a century or so when you hear humans wax philosophical on eras you lived through.

I leveled my gaze on Alec, unconvinced. "Uh-huh."

"Fine. I'll attempt to redeem myself," Alec said, laboring a sigh. "I like exploring places humans rarely see on account of their fragile mortal coils."

I perked up, able to see the merit in that. One of the few genuinely awesome things about being a vampire was having the ability to go virtually anywhere you wanted without having to pack a million things or worry about starvation, suffocating, extreme temperatures and anything else liable to kill a human.

"What kind of places have you gone?" I asked eagerly.

Alec gazed off into space as he reflected on his sight-seeing expeditions. "Well, I enjoyed wandering around the Sahara for a bit and the death zones on mountain peaks always have nice views but caves are more fascinating. Mammoth Cave in Kentucky was fun to survey on account of their length but the Yoronya Cave in Abkhazia was more impressive on account of its depth. I meant to visit the Ox Bel Ha Caves when we were resolving the wars in Mexico but our work was too demanding."

I nodded along emphatically, promising myself that I would visit those places myself. "Have you been to Antarctica?"

"No," Alec sighed with a note disappointment. "It's such a long swim and there's nothing to eat out there."

"I'm sure they have penguins and seals," I said in a sickly-sweet tone. Ha! So there was at least on advantage to having a non-human diet.

"Now, what sort of monster would I be if I ate such adorable little animals?" Alec smirked back.

It was stupid to let myself be guilted by someone who probably considered babies the vampire equivalent to veal but penguins were pretty darn cute. "I'm sure I can find a nice, juicy kraken or something."

"Try the Mariana Trench," Alec suggested.

"You've been to the bottom of the Mariana Trench?" I gaped. I remembered enough from school know that was the deepest part of the ocean with pressure too crushing for humans to withstand. I shook my head in astonishment. "I didn't think even our kind could handle it down there."

"It's a little uncomfortable and it wreaks havoc on your equilibrium," Alec admitted. "Still, you should visit it when you have the chance."

I was sorely tempted to hop into the ocean and start paddling. "And there are really Krakens down there or did you make that up?"

Alec shrugged with an impish grin that actually made him look like a fourteen year old boy. "I suppose you'll have to see for yourself."

"Have you found Atlantis?" I asked, only half-serious.

"Not yet, no," Alec said with a chuckle. "I'll be sure to let you know if I ever stumble across it, though."

"Great! I'll send you a postcard from Antarctica," I said brightly.

Listening Alec's various adventures made me wistful for the brief time Diego and I spent together. Diego liked exploring too, which was how he found the underwater cave we spent that one precious day in. If we had only been smart enough to flee as soon as we realized Riley was lying, I bet Diego would have loved seeing the world like no human could ever.

"So what do you do for fun?" Alec asked, intruding on my bittersweet memories and broken dreams.

"Nothing half as interesting as what you do to kill time," I said, feeling disadvantaged. Everything I enjoyed doing seemed so dull by compare. "Most of my hobbies are still pretty humanish."

"You're still adjusting to all this," Alec said pleasantly. "It will take you a few years to absorb knowledge and soak up experiences."

"And then I'll probably just be bored with life altogether," I grumbled.

"Don't be so pessimistic. I've been around for centuries and I'm still thoroughly enjoying myself," said Alec with absolute sincerity. "Although, I must admit chasing you around has proved a bigger challenge than I've faced in years. I'm not used to people escaping me."

"Glad I could bring a little suspense to your life," I said, not nearly as entertained by our game of cat-and-mouse.

"Honestly, you should be proud," said Alec, edging closer to me. "I was convinced I had you but then you pulled that clever little maneuver with the lamppost to throw me off your scent. Considering your young age, I'm impressed with your of resourcefulness."

"Thanks," I said, shifting my weight with an awkwardness that didn't suit my graceful body. Essentially Alec was complimenting my ability to avoid getting myself killed on the spot. Did that seriously count for praise amongst the Volturi? Maybe I should pat myself on the back a bit since there were pyres of vampires who failed to escape Alec. "If it's any consolation I totally didn't expect I would get out of Sibiu."

"Actually, that makes me feel worse for overestimating myself and underestimating you," said Alec with enough humor for the subject. "I mean it, though; our kind might make excellent predators but, when we become prey, few of possess the survival skills necessary to live through the experience. Our instinct is almost always to choose fight over flight and that often leads to peril. I sincerely think you're ahead of the curve in adapting to our tumultuous lifestyle."

I bet there were vampires who literally killed hoping to impress Alec and the Volturi in general but I wasn't sure how much I wanted Alec's respect. It was the kind of double-edged sword that seemed too easy to end up falling on.

"Do you think I'm just trying to flatter you?" Alec asked, responding to my uneasiness.

"No, I know you mean it and I appreciate you saying all that," I said. Even if I wasn't sure what to do with Alec's accolade there was no sense in insulting him. "The one thing I don't have to worry about is ever accepting a false compliment."

Alec lifted his chin with an inquiring look. "How accurate is your ability?"

"How accurate is yours?" I asked, raising my eyebrows as I clasped my hands behind my back. "You must not need eye-contact to make it work considering how you snatched me from my room."

Yes, I was still bitter over having the wool pulled over my eyes but that didn't mean I wasn't genuinely curious of how Alec's talent worked. Supposedly he and his twin were two of the most – if not the most – powerful vampires in existence. I couldn't believe they got that way by accident and decided to get whatever insight I could on the subject while Alec was in a chatty mood.

"Eye-contact isn't necessary for me anymore, though it requires less focus on my part if I can see my targets. Otherwise, it's like groping blindly until I detect someone," Alec measured his words slowly. I assumed the mechanics behind his sensory nullification were so complex, subtle and personal it was hard for him to articulate his power in a way I could comprehend. "Once I have hold of someone I can keep them under my influence as an afterthought indefinitely; though, it varies depending on how many people I'm trying to maintain control over."

I was surprised by how little reservation he showed for explaining his talent for me. My ability was nothing compared to Alec's but even I wasn't quick to share the specifics of how it worked.

"What's the largest group of people you've ever held at one time?" I asked.

"Seventeen," said Alec as if hadn't exerted much energy in the effort and felt he could do better. "The newborn armies the Volturi encountered in Mexico were rarely under a dozen."

Alec definitely had an ego to him but I was starting to think it was somewhat justified. I doubt Jane would have missed an opportunity to crow even the smallest of accomplishments but Alec didn't seem inclined to pat himself on the back for trivial reasons. I found it pretty admirable and mildly disconcerting that Alec was still ambitious enough to push himself even though the Volturi were more than satisfied by his work.

"What of yourself?" asked Alec, turning the discussion over to me. "What do you understand of your talent so far?"

I still felt hesitant about telling Alec too much about myself but it didn't seem fair to hold out considering how forthcoming Alec had been about his own. "Eleazar said I'm good at sensing the sincerity of people and what their motives are. It's also easier for me to convince people I mean what I say."

Alec stiffened and gave me a wary look. "Do you mean you can lie to people and make them believe you?"

"No!" I said, aghast. Was it a Volturi thing to assume everyone was out to control the world? "I don't think I can outright lie, just ease any doubts someone might have about what I'm saying. I can't just persuade people to believe whatever I want them to."

"Perhaps for now," Alec mulled the possibilities. "Your talent is still maturing. Initially, it took my total concentration to immobilize a handful of people and now it's practically a reflex. Who can say what intuition you might develop for the motives of others or how you might be able to sway them?"

I narrowed my eyes and resentfully watched the wheels turn in Alec's brain. "I guess we'll never know because I have no current plans for world domination."

"Well, that's good. I doubt plotting global tyranny is a strong suit of yours," said Alec with a wry smile.

"I'm sure you would know," I said, rolling my eyes.

"I might possess a talent for controlling a situation but let's not exaggerate," said Alec as sauntered closer and inclined his smirking head. "Now, if you were referring to Volturi's collective authority, I thought we made covens a taboo subject for the time being. Of course, I'm always willing to discuss the finer points and less appreciated purpose of mine if you're curious."

"No thanks. Mine is not an inquiring mind when it comes to that topic," I told Alec point-blank. There was nothing Alec could say to make me believe the world was a better place because it had puppet-masters pulling its strings and yanking my chain. "I'm glad you really like your talent, Alec, but I don't envy you for it."

Alec shrugged the comment off. "People tend to be more impressed by Jane's."

"Ugh! I'm less impressed by hers!" I said with a fierce scowl. After being on the receiving end of each twin's talent it wasn't even a question which one I preferred. "It's not a matter of how flashy or dangerous your abilities are, it's the fact I wouldn't want to use either ever on anybody else and what's the point in having a talent you don't want to use?"

"None whatsoever," Alec agreed wholeheartedly. "Fortunately, I don't believe any of our kind is afflicted with an ability they wouldn't want seeing as they're supposedly extensions of our being, albeit with a few interesting adjustments."

I gave Alec a queer look as I tried to imagine what he and his sister were like as humans to end up with talents that made them walking weapons of mass destruction. Then again, it was always possible their abilities reflect very little of who they once were since Edward's intuitive nature as a human gave him the ability read minds for miles or how Jasper's charismatic personality made him not just attune to moods but capable of manipulating them.

"Why do you think you and Jane have the abilities you do?" I asked since Alec was likely to have the best insight into his own talent.

"It's hard to say since my human life wasn't worth remembering," Alec said with a tone of indifference that didn't sound like they fully supported the weight of his memories. I was getting the impression Alec spent a lot of time walling himself off from the things most people cared about and, after a couple centuries, I imagined those walls were as tall as they were thick.

"So you can't remember anything from being human?" I pried at the bricks and mortar. "If you can't, it's not like you'd be the first. Alice ended up with amnesia after she became a vampire so her human life is a total blank for her."

Alec's gaze shifted to me unappreciatively for pressing the issue. "It's not as though I recollect nothing of that period; however, the dull senses and unreliable memory that afflicts humans makes it so burdensome to concentrate on moments so mundane. It all happened long ago and whenever I make an attempt to shift through the specks and fragments all that remains of those memories are either too precious to discard or cut too deep to ever forget."

I hadn't considered whether Alec had a happy human life or not and regretted my active effort to unearth all the things Alec preferred to keep buried. If anyone could empathize with how I planned to ease off the subject as gracefully as I could but Alec continued.

"Jane and I were infamous long before we were vampires. The world was gradually turning its back on superstition in favor of more enlightened thinking; however, there were still pockets that hid fear and ignorance. We I had the misfortune of being raised in one such village. Twins were considered an oddity under the best of circumstances and the fact we were bore by an unwed mother who would never named our father didn't improve our situation. The adults shunned us and spread unkind rumors while their children never squandered an opportunity to harass Jane or I. We learned at an early age only to trust and depend upon one another but that saved us from few of the torments and indignities our peers enjoyed inflicting upon us."

"I thought it took a village to raise a child, not make their lives miserable," I said reproachfully. It wasn't that I doubted Alec's word but I had trouble envisioning Jane and Alec – two of the most feared individuals amongst our kind – ever being the victim in any situation. It definitely gave me my first big clue as to why Alec and Jane had such prickly dispositions and so much fun being the scariest people around. "How did you guys handle it?"

"In our own little ways; some healthier than others," Alec smiled unpleasantly. "Jane despised feeling helpless and my sister's approach to retribution was as clever as it was cruel but, alas, Jane always was something of a gloater. She reaped what she sewed quite often and – since our fates are intertwined – I suffered more than my fair share of reprisal."

Surprise, surprise. "That didn't make you mad?"

"At my sister? No. Jane is Jane and I expect nothing more and nothing less of her," Alec said as if that was his catch-all excuse for anything his twin did. "My temperament has always run a few degrees less than Jane's, which allowed me to keep a cool head. So, after a while, we fell into a simpler, more effective pattern - Jane would get mad and I would get even."

Alec's casual, almost nostalgic delivery sent a chill down my spine. I assumed his scheming and callousness were products of his time spent amongst the Volturi, not inherent features of his character. I didn't want to imagine exactly how Alec settled his scores with the angry village-folk and I didn't plan to ask, so I said instead:

"We don't have to keep talking about this if you don't want to."

Alec seemed amused by my consideration of his feelings. "I don't care to reminisce on my boyhood but it's important I illustrate the climate Jane and I grew up in so you might understand why it is I believe we possess the talents we do."

"Okay…" I said, unsure if I even wanted to hear Alec's theories anymore.

"Both my sister and I harbored a lot of resentment over the constant disrespect we received and loathed to feel as weak as we did. We desired power and the ability to demand respect and I believe our respective demeanors might explain why our talents developed as they did. I was always better at restraining my frustrations than Jane so she frequently took a proactive approach to dealing with our problems where as I was more reactive. She played offense and I played defense and we did so as a team. Likely, our talents manifested along similar lines; complimenting each other's strengths while accounting for the other's limitations. Jane is swift pain and I'm gradual restraint."

I nodded thoughtfully. The few things I knew about each of the twins aligned well with Alec's speculations but it left me wondering something else. "Do you think you and Jane would have the same talents you do now if the people in your village were nicer to you?"

Alec stared blankly at me like the idea never occurred to him before I mentioned it, which felt so tragic to me. The only reason the world probably had two monsters like Alec and Jane was because they had angry villagers chasing them around with pitchforks and torches. If they had been a couple of healthy, well-adjusted kids maybe their abilities would have developed into something positive – maybe not rainbow eye-beams and mists of bubbles positive – but something that wasn't rooted in so much pain and anger.

Great. Now, I felt bad for Alec and I didn't like it. It meant I had to feel bad for Jane too and I didn't want to have the least bit sympathy for that pain-inducing, pygmy she-devil.

"It's possible they might have manifested along different lines to achieve similar results but Jane and I are what we are," said Alec, not tempted to show the least bit introspection on the subject. "I told you what I did to illustrate a point, not illicit pity, Bree. I never developed a habit for feeling sorry for myself and would prefer you not either."

"It doesn't matter whether you want people to feel sorry for you, Alec; I think you need people to," I said, mournful and bitter. "My home was so damn broken you could have gotten splinters from it. Things were horrible when my parents were together and they got worse when they split up. Mom just left me with Dad even though she knew it meant I'd get her share of his bad mood, too. For a while I wondered why she didn't love me enough to stay or, at least, take with her and Dad always made sure I knew how worthless he thought I was. I never felt safe anywhere with anyone but I couldn't bring myself to ask for help either. Why would anyone care about me when my own family didn't? When I tried running away from my problems I just ended up with a whole new mess of them until, finally, I ended up so far beyond help that…well, look at me."

I motioned to my pale, dead body with a look of distaste. There was probably a legion of fifteen year old girls who would trade places with me in a heartbeat and I would let them, just to say I had a heartbeat again. I wasn't completely nostalgic for my mortality but at least it wasn't human nature be a vagabond serial killer.

"The twisted thing is I got exactly what I wanted. I don't need a roof over my head, I don't need my mother to take care of me, I don't have to worry about my father hurting me. I didn't just die to get my wish granted, I killed for it and I'll keep killing for it because it's the only thing I need now," I said miserably. "So, yeah, you need pity, Alec. Everybody needs pity because if they don't get it then people grow hard and cold and they just don't care when somebody ends up dead, including themselves."

Alec watched me carefully throughout my rant, likely waiting to see if I would try and punt him over a mountain ridge. Yet another glorious thing about being a vampire – inspiring fear and inflicting violence. I sighed, giving up on my lament so I would radiate a little less hostility. It was bad enough I wasn't safe for human company without making vampires afraid to hang out with me too.

"Okay, I'm through pitying myself. At least for the moment," I promised half-heartedly. "Let's just walk around a while."

"Certainly," Alec said as he led the way.

I gave him points for not remarking on how bitter and crazy I sounded just now. I realized it was futile to complain: my human life was a total waste of time, energy and emotion. I couldn't change my loveless background anymore than I could change the fact that I was, now and forever, a fifteen year old vampire. I needed to make my peace with all this soon or my immortality was going to be as infuriating and tragic as mortality turned out to be.

Alec and drifted aimlessly through the trees and ferns carpeting the valley Alec brought us to and defaulted to following Alec's movements since I had no clue if we were heading anywhere in particular or just wandering. Every so often we hit a pocket of light or stray beams, which made our skin glitter like fresh Christmas snow. It was then I noticed the threads of cinnamon that tinged Alec's hair, reminding me that it was brunette and not black. It also occurred to me that Alec's complexion was distinctly pale.

"Were you from Italy originally or somewhere else?" Italians didn't have a complexion as dark as the warm hue Diego's shimmered with beneath the sun but I knew they were darker than me.

"Jane and I lived in Scotland when we were human; one of the isles, not the mainland," Alec said as though he didn't feel this was particularly vital information about himself.

"Really? You don't have an accent," I said, puzzling over this fact. "Actually, you have no accent – Scottish, Italian or otherwise – unless you're using the local dialect, like when you first spoke to me in Romanian."

Vaguely, I wondered how many languages Alec knew. Probably all of them and a few dead ones, just for good measure. I picked up Romanian in an hour so I knew it wasn't that hard. Maybe I would finally have time to learn Klingon.

"I have plenty of permanent features but, after three hundred and forty-seven years, a few things are bound to erode away," Alec smiled with only the corner of his mouth. "It's almost comforting to know something about me is capable of changing."

I nodded at that. "I'll tell you right now I'm not looking forward to going through puberty forever."

The gravity of my situation hadn't crushed me yet but I could feel the pressure looming over me. It was one thing to be sixteen and look fifteen but how would I feel when I was eighteen? Or twenty-one? Or thirty? Or three-hundred? Maybe talking with Alec wasn't the worst idea I ever had. At least it gave me a glimpse of what I could expect in the years to come.

"It isn't easy; especially where humans are concerned," Alec warned me somberly. "You'll always be little more than a child yet never regarded as an adult. There are places you can't go without drawing attention to yourself and any place someone 'your age' should be won't stimulate you in the least. People will incessantly condescend to you because they assume you're just old enough to think you know everything but too young to have any genuine life experience. Adults are constantly offering unsolicited advice and assume you should respect and obey them because they're 'older' and will always want to know 'where your parents are'."

"I don't know if I should be mad at you or grateful for telling it to me straight," I said glumly. At least I was no stranger to adults talking to me like I was an idiot. "I guess there are worse things than dealing with nosy, bossy adults."

"There is – hebephiles," said Alec, sounding like a cord was out of tune in his melodic voice when he pronounced the last word.

Years of reading made me no slouch when it came to vocabulary but that was a new one for me. "What's that?"

"Adults who take a sexual interest in pubescent children," Alec said with no affection.

I made a face, likewise repulsed. "I thought that was a pedophile."

"That word only applies to children who haven't entered puberty. It is also less common than hebephilia," Alec explained dispassionately as he cast me a sideways glance. "Don't be surprised if you get propositioned now and again, especially because of all the natural charms inherent to our kind. It's not as though they can do you any actual harm but it does get very annoying when they're the persistent sort."

A sound of disgust rattled in my throat. It wasn't as though this were a completely foreign concept to me. No girl got through adolescence without at least one pervert making a pass at her but I would never have the luxury of outgrowing that awkward situation.

"Do you get a lot of older women hitting on you?" I asked as I bent my knees slightly and leapt onto a ledge running along the cliff face two-stories up.

Alec laughed darkly at that, then bounding up and fell into step behind me. He made the effort seem as complicated as stepping onto a curb. I wondered if Alec was working with a little more agility than the average vampire or if I was just seeing the product of centuries of practice.

"No, it's mostly males who express a liking for me," Alec said over a moan of wind.

"Lovely," I was cringing again. "Got any tips for brushing them off?"

"Well, I'm always happy to give them an example of what interesting things I like to do with my mouth," said Alec with a palpable amount of satisfaction. "Unfortunately, they always manage to interpret my meaning far differently from what I'm offering."

I felt a moral dilemma coming on. People like me and Alec had nothing to fear from predators like that but the same couldn't be said for human kids. I suppose I could always turn someone like that over to the police but even if I didn't epically expose the existence of vampires in the process I knew first-hand how easy it was for parents and the system at large to fail a child. Ideally, I knew I shouldn't kill humans period but what would be harder for me to live with – knowing I murdered some sicko who took advantage of kids or letting him live and finding out he hurt some boy or girl who wasn't diamond-hard and freakishly strong?

I felt the answer in my heart and I knew it would disappoint Carlisle.

I dug my fingers into the side of the cliff and began climbing like I thought I could physically rise above all the turmoil plaguing my existence. I heard Alec mimicking my motions but he wasn't scaling rocks in cute designer sandals. I placed my grip onto a chuck of stone jutting out and used my free hand to work my footwear loose.

"You couldn't have put hiking boots on instead of these things?" I complained lightly.

"I was working with a limited selection and they were the most practical shoes I could find," Alec defended his choice. "The rest were either barely more than slippers or had four-inch heels."

I flung my sandals up to the top of the peak. I resumed my climb with far more comfort as each foothold felt like carpeted stairs. "Well, that's the only way I'll ever see five foot six."

Alec snorted. "You're complaining to the wrong person about being short. You, Jane and Alice Cullen are the only vampires I don't have to crane my neck to talk to."

"Don't tell me you have a Napoleon complex," I chuckled until a serious question came to mind. "Why were you changed so young? Just bad luck like me?"

"Not exactly," Alec said. Again, his tone made it feel like I picked the wrong subject to broach but he went along with it. "Aro intended to wait until Jane and I were a few years older but…well, there was a complication to his plan."

Alec seethed out the word "complication" with more venom than I had in my body. Maybe my internal quip about angry villagers wasn't that far from the truth. I was content to say nothing more but then Alec answered the question I refused to ask.

"The people in our village burned Jane and I at the stake."

I whipped my body around until my fingertips were all that kept me from plummeting into open air. I wasn't concerned by gravity, though. Not after Alec dropped a bombshell like that.

"What the hell?" Was all I could sputter out in reply.

Alec paused his own ascent and showed absolutely no feeling in his composed features. "Aro was traveling with Eleazar when he came upon the village Jane and I lived in. We were half the age we were now when Eleazar predicted our potential and, after that, Aro made it our destiny to one day join the Volturi. He simply couldn't imagine continuing without us but Aro is nothing if not patient and knew he would have to wait. As Aro bided his time, he paid random visits to our village and became a benefactor of our family to ensure Jane and I had all our needs met until it was time to conclude our human existence. Unfortunately, Aro's generosity didn't improve our standing in the community and, eventually, the villagers decided our prosperity – amongst other things – was a sign we were consorting with the Devil and we were declared witches, sentenced to die at the stake."

My jaw was slack in outrage and horror. "You were just kids!"

Alec looked mildly offended. "Fourteen was well past the age of innocence in those days. Boys only slightly older than me were entering marriages and had our family not been so unpopular Jane likely would have been betrothed or wed."

I tried to imagine Jane as a happy homemaker and failed miserably. "So Aro had to change you then or let you die?"

"Yes and Aro was never one for wasting potential," said Alec. He climbed to my level and offered a black smile. "My situation isn't ideal but, overall, it worked out well. Plus, I get to delight in the irony that Jane and I were meant to die that day but it was the rest of our village that perished in the end."

"You and Jane killed everyone," I guessed softly.

"Alas, no. Jane and I were writhing in too much agony between our injuries and the affects of Aro's venom," said Alec with true regret. "Aro was the one who sought retribution. As affable as Aro typically is he was livid at nearly losing Jane and I after everything he did and everything he hoped to do with us. No man, woman or child was spared his wrath and – as far as local history is concerned – our village was murdered and put to torch by brigands."

I thought the Cullens had sad stories about the circumstances leading to their transformation but even Rosalie's couldn't compare to Alec and Jane's. At least Rosalie had led a happy, charmed life up until the last hours of it but Jane and Alec were always pained with anger, torment and fear. And, even if nobody tried to kill the twins, Aro would have just swooped in and claimed them a couple years later. Like Alec said, this was his destiny and sometimes destiny felt a lot like doom.

"Neither of you had a chance, did you?" I said sadly.

Alec furrowed his brow as he considered my meaning. "Of surviving our burns? No, I don't expect we would have. I was suffering from such extensive shock that I had no inkling of what was happening around me but Jane…"

Alec refused to finish his sentence but I didn't need him to, now with the shade of that day haunting his eyes. Of everything Alec saw with his acute vision and impeccable memory it was this hazy and imperfect human moment involving his sister that tortured him centuries after that fact. He blinked hard as if that would be enough to crush the memories but the best Alec managed was throwing a few more bricks onto the walls he hid them behind.

My mouth felt strangely dry. "I think, maybe, that might explain where your talents came from."

"It's as good an explanation as any," said Alec, feigning a lovely smile.

I was finally starting to realize how much it took to make a monster and, in the end, we were all just victims of circumstance and creatures who gave us all our demons to inflict upon the world.

AUTHOR'S NOTE – I intended to add a little more to this chapter but, considering its length, I decided to hold a little back for the next installment. Thanks for your patience and reviews ^^