POV: Jared – Vampire – Original Character (I Invented Him)

Not good. Really, really not good, I thought.

I paused to assess the situation. Aro looked infuriated with me, as well as Caius and Marcus. Heidi, not wanting to get involved in the conflict, had hurried out with the guards. Alec looked slightly confused and concerned about what I might have done, while Jane was characteristically bored. As usual.

"Aro," – Alec broke the awkward quiet – "what has Jared done?"

Aro turned to glower at me. "He left the door open during feeding. Any of the humans could have escaped with knowledge of our city and ways!"

There was a brief silence. Alec looked shocked by my actions, but Jane's face was still locked in the same uninterested frown. "The question is, did any of the humans get away?" she asked indifferently.

Caius turned to face me. "That's for Jared to answer."

"I don't think that anyone escaped," I clarified, hoping that he would believe me. As far as I knew, that was the truth. I continued, "I… acted impulsively. Heidi chose some unusually delicious humans. I mean, after all… this was my first time on door duty, and…"

"And apparently your last time," Jane flatly interrupted.

Ugh, I mused. Short in stature, but unbelievably annoying!

However, concealing my disrespectful thoughts, I continued, "As far as I know, none of the humans escaped, so…"

"You're sure?" Again, Jane's irritatingly apathetic voice cut me off in mid-sentence.

"I think so," I replied, beginning to feel exasperated. She's starting to get to me. What does she want… a play-by-play?

"Recount the order of events, please," Jane requested. "Just to be sure. You know, a play-by-play?"

Oh, brother. I thought that Aro was the one who read minds.

"Alright, chronological order," I complied, hoping to avoid arousing fury from Jane. I began, "Heidi brought the humans. Aro gave us permission to eat. I lunged for the nearest mortal…"

"Without closing the door," Jane added.

"Yes," I groaned, "without closing the door, and I bit her… or him… I'm not sure. I think it was a blond female. Either way, the human smelled wonderful, and I bit its neck. Then… let me think…"

I paused, trying to recall what had happened next. I had attacked the human, bit it, and then… Now I remembered. I had smelled another one, a stronger, more appetizing scent, and I had lunged for the new prey, and…

Oh, no. The other human! What happened to the other human?

My mind whirled. The other human… must have… escaped! No, no, no…

"Jared?" For once, Jane's voice had a hint of emotion – irritation. "Are you alright?"

I couldn't think of how to reply. I was doomed now, as good as dead. Without a doubt, Aro would do away with me for this.

"Speak, Jared!" Jane ordered.

She looked about ready to use her pain-inflicting abilities, so I quickly stammered, "I bit the human, and then… I smelled… another one. I… lunged… for the new one."

"And left the first one unattended?" Jane shouted, her voice rising.

I nodded weakly.

"Useless, obtuse, impulsive child!" Jane shrieked. Suddenly, her mouth curved into a sinister smile. I braced myself for the pain, but it came even stronger than I had expected. Out of nowhere, wild, burning heat, like vampire venom, engulfed my limbs. I felt my legs collapse from under me as I crashed to the marble floor.

I lost all control of my body.

I couldn't even find the strength to scream.

"Jane," Aro calmly corrected, "that's enough."

Jane turned to him, and, for a moment, my pain subsided. "Not yet," Jane whispered to Aro. She turned to me again, and the torture returned, stronger than ever.

"Jane," – Aro's voice was more assertive now – "I said, that's enough."

"Fine," she hissed. The burning in my limbs finally vanished as quickly as it had begun.

Aro turned to me. "So there's a newborn, somewhere in Volterra, changing into an immortal as we speak?"

I stumbled to my feet, and pathetically admitted, "Yes, Aro."

"I will have to deal with you appropriately," Aro sighed. "But I can't afford to kill you. You have… diligence. Potential. Jane?"

Jane looked up with what had returned to a typically blank expression. "Yes?"

"You and Alec may return to your chambers."

Jane nodded. "We had best be going, Alec." Then the two ghosted out the door, their robes flowing in the wind. They were gone.

Again, Aro turned to face me. "You will find the newborn," he hissed. It clearly wasn't a question, but an order. A requirement.

He continued, "If you eliminate the newly created immortal before it wreaks havoc on all of Volterra, you are forgiven and I will pretend that none of this ever happened. If not…" Aro's countenance turned solemn. "…I will have to obliterate your existence for the greater good of the Guard in order to prevent future… mistakes. Are we clear?"

There was a lengthy silence.

Aro repeated, "Are we clear?" His voice resounded off of the walls of the chamber.

"Yes, Aro," I answered. "Very clear."

"Good." Aro clapped his hands. "Leave us. Find the newborn and kill it… or you will share it's fate."