I own nothing! Well, except my house, my car, my dog, and a few rooms of fabric. But in terms of Twilight, it's not mine. Sorry.

Summary: We left dear Carlisle in the chapel after his run in with a mysterious lady who had been praying during the feeding downstairs in Volterra.

Chapter 2

I sat there for what seemed many hours sorting through my confused thoughts. I had been told that we were damned though I did not believe so. Or at least, I did not believe so any longer. When I first was turned, I tried all ways in which to destroy myself for I thought myself a loathsome creature. For what else did feed upon human blood but a demon?

I refused to partake in what my nature demanded. I fought. I suffered. And, as if a sign were given unto me, that one deer did pass by my strange little hovel in the middle of nowhere. I took it's blood and no longer saw myself as a demon but as something that was once again part of God's creation. I thought that in the act of not killing that from which I had come, I could retain some part of my humanity; I could retain my soul.

I heard the soft sounds of many footsteps begin to echo back through the halls. The horrible display downstairs must have linned itself. My emotions were a mix of relief and regret. Relief that such an act was over and that none more shall die tonight. Regret that any had so needlessly died at all when there was such a clear alternative. I could only pray that those souls that were murdered this day would find salvation.

Slowly I stood in the small chapel and walked back from whence I came. I need not have any of the others find the already strange vampire here amongst the women's quarters. I gracefully made it to the stairs when I heard the footsteps grow louder.

"...she did not pause in her retreat. I dare say that she has gone mad!" I heard one vampire say. From the sound of her voice, she had been changed when she was slightly older. Maybe in her 40's.

"Nay. Thee doth know well her temperament. Mayhaps she did but find reason to go on another intrigue," the other, younger one stated back. This ones footsteps were lighter as well. I continued to walk down the staircase when I did come upon them.

Indeed, the first one that spoke was older. Her hair was black with but a few shots of silver. Her eyes glistened a shocking red from having been recently fed. She was plump but pleasantly so; she carried herself well. The younger one was of perhaps 20 years and had hair of red in curls. She was shorter and much reminded me of the ladies of the English court so depicted a good 100 years prior to my birth. It was then I did realize they had spoken in my native tongue.

Being a gentleman, I did take a proper bow, sweeping an invisible hat to the front of my calf. They both smiled, nodded, and continued on. When they believed they had walked sufficient distance, I did hear the younger one whisper to her elder. "Mayhaps, he be the reason for her run?" she asked. The older one simply laughed, and, I turned my way down the staircase, I believe I saw her shake her head.

It was but a short while later I did find myself amassed in the main hall, surrounded by many others of my kind. Each in their own groups, talking of this or that. I imagined this is much like any other court that could be found 70 years ago in Europe. The difference was that this court did not have a king nor a queen. This court had but a family that did set upon the rules of our kind. This court was made of vampires.

In my childhood, the old ways of the monarchy had been preserved and well established. It was within this childhood that the world did tear apart, or at least it did for me and the rest of us who did live in England at the time. Cromwell displaced and executed King Charles. Most of my life had been under the Commonwealth and through the Civil War. It was not until I did take over my father's church that King Charles II did re-take the throne. I wondered at what had been accomplished truly when we simply displaced one monarch for another. Was it so that good men and women must die that more laws could be passed? Did Parliament simply sign these laws into being with a bleeding pen?

I knew not of the court of England except what I had read in the pamphlets and papers that had become so common. However, seeing the vampires around me, dressed in the finest silks and linens, I could not imagine it would have been terribly different from this. The various courtiers stood around en masse in the large hallway leading up to the center of the castle where the three thrones stayed. There had been four once, or so I was told, which is why the three that were left did not look to be perfectly arranged.

Making my way down the hall as careful as one may be, I slowly went up to the place where, moments ago, agonized screams were heard indicating the orgy of the feast. I banished such thoughts from my mind. I care not to dwell on the thoughts of the blood that must have flowed down through the small grate in the middle of the floor or the hundreds of thousands that had passed through those doors prior to this day.

Walking by the various groups and couples lining the elongated hallway, I was taken out of my revere by a familiar sounding voice. "Ah, Carlisle! There you are," I heard Aro state in Italian. I turned my head slightly and watched as he approached me with his small entourage behind him. I bowed, again, sweeping the invisible hat over my calf as was custom. I saw his smiling face as I stood erect again.

"We did so miss you earlier," he said as he began to walk down the hally way towards his office. He motioned for me to follow him. I obliged. "Pray, tell me where you did go this time. Did you spend more time amongst the books or examine the gardens?" he asked in a generally amused fashion that I found curious as always.

I wasn't sure how to answer this since neither had been the case this time. I had not spent the past few hours examining Severino's book on surgical pathology or attempting to drown the screams of innocent souls with the sounds of the cool fountain waters in the center garden. Indeed, I had tresspassed into the women's quarters and seen the lady upstairs who most certainly was not fond of Aro, or at least in that moment.

Aro noticed my hesitation and quirked his eyebrow as he rounded his desk. He motioned for me to sit in one of the chairs and had dismissed all but one of his guard with a wave of his hand. "Or, perhaps, neither?" he asked as he sat behind his desk smiling.

"I wandered the halls," I stated simply. Lying would be pointless. I had quickly learned that some, a select few, vampires had extra gifts beyound that which was given us to our nature. Aro's ability was to read one's mind, one's entire mind, filled with all that you had thought and experience through out your life. Thankfully, his ability was limited to touch. I had only been under his hand once and that did seem to be enough.

Aro laughed joyfully at my answer. "Did you explore the rest of the castle? I think you may have been the only one not in attendance today," he did muse. Sitting back, Aro tapped his chin in thought. "You would have the castle to yourself, which is all well and good. Mayhaps you managed to get a peek upstairs? With all but gone it would have done..." and then he did stop abruptly. It was clear in his eyes that he was remembering something. His smile grew.

"You startled Caterina!" he said, now fully laughing. "That would explain her expersion!"

I blinked, not because I had to given that I was a vampire, but out of confusion. "Caterina?" I asked. Was that the girl I saw upstair's name? It seemed to fit her some how. It may have just been that in that brief interlude she reminded me much of Kate from Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. Perhaps there was something in that name...

Aro rose and smiled again. "Indeed! She tore down the hallway and did stop near me. That woman has a temper that would put all the devilry in the world to shame!" he did sport amusedly. His tone towards her was like any elder gently reprimanding a child. "She did chastise me for sending someone to interrupt her prayers. Silly creature she is!," he told me as he shook his head.

Interrupt her prayers? Verily, Caterina must have been the woman I did see in the chapel. For whom else in this strange little world of our own kind would submit to prayful hours? What was the given chance that another lady may, in this same time, be lost in her thoughts of God and have another walk in upon her? Very slim, I dare say.

"I do pray, tell me, Aro, is Caterina a Catholic?" I did ask, remembering her rosary in her hand. As I thought back to the scene, I began to remember other things as well; such stuff that my mind did not recognize the details at first. There had been a scent of strawberries and fresh sweet cream in the air, most likely her scent. Her rosary beads, albeit, my view had been obstructed by her hands, looked to have been made out of rose petals that were fashioned into beads and hardened. Never had I seen such a thing before. Given that I was an Anglican, it was of little doubt why I had not seen such beads as this prior; Catholics were banned from practicing in England.

Verily, it was more of Catholics being banned from England altogether. Between the 5th of November, almost a good 40 years prior to my birth, and then Henrietta Marie to which many do credit being one of the main causes for our grand revolution just after my birth, Catechism was seen as quite base. My father had tried to wipe out any Catholics who were still left from England. I was more concerned with monsters that filled the nightmares and preyed upon us all. Those who believed in God and upheld his commandments were of little concequence to me. All else under that be it trivial.

Aro did laugh at me in regards to my question. "You would ask such a thing, would you not, Carlisle!" he boasted as his laughter seemed to fill the room. I simply smiled slightly and looked at him as he leaned against his desk. "Indeed! You and Caterina would get along marvelously well," he stated. I noticed a look of thoughtfulness in his eyes as he cocked his head to the side. "Mayhaps I should introduce you both," he mused.

That did sit me back. I had no interest in any matchmaking service if those were his plans. I wished only to study and to help others through medicine. None else was important to me. However, I do admit my curiosity over such a creature as Caterina, one who did not submit herself to the feast and who did still pray, was enough of a factor that I did follow Aro when he motioned for me to arise.

"I believe she is in the gardens now," he said, clearly still thinking. "Marcus is most likely with her," he mused more to himself than to make any such statement to me. I walked next to Aro, his garments of gold and silk flowing to the floor around him. My own garments of wool and linen were very much out classed in this enviroment. However, I did not make much as a medical student practicing under Doctor Gagliardo. I was fortunate to not need to have such expenses as rent nor food. Mayhaps I could spend a bit more on less pratical garments.

Only two guards filed in behind us as Aro floated through the hall to an open side door and into the garden. The garden was encased within the castle walls. So, albeit the sun did make it's apperance, as was common in Italy, none should accidently endanger our secret. As I did here one of the guards say upon my first day here "We can glisten as brightly as the sun may allow within these walls, for none shall see but our own eyes."

The garden was hedged with rose bushes and boxwood. A small maze made up for most of the garden, with only the outer walls covered in various flowers and herbs. Aro entered the maze through a small arch whilst I did the same. I kept up with him as the guards did seem to fall back in this place. The green of the boxwood and rose bushes that toward over my head felt comforting. I shall like to live somewhere this green when I do complete my studies.

Taking various twists and turns into the maze, I could smell the slight hint of strawberries and cream. I could indeed smell her. I also did believe that Aro was correct in his belief that Marcus was with her. "Ah! Marcus! Caterina! I am so glad to have found you," he stated to them both as I came to the corner.

They were both seated upon a small bench inside a small nook within the dead end of this maze. The nook was covered in the most amazing mosaic I had the pleasure yet to set my eyes upon. The various blues of the tiles did make it look like water cascading down behind them. A small lamp, of Turkish origin no doubt, was above their heads. To either side were planters filled with what looked to be strawberries. Mayhap she spent so much time in this tiny nook that it did give her the sweet scent?

Looking at Caterina in this light I noticed that she looked every bit like a marble statue from a century or two previous. Her features were flawless. Her hair, now that I could see it even better with the light of the sun, looked as if every colored metal had been used to create her locks. Copper, bronze, gold, and iron all were arranged back and then hidden beneath her veil. Despite clearly being one of us, I do believe she would look more appropriate to sit next to Michangelo's David then amongst our kind here. Something regarding her presence, her being, made it look as if she did not belong. I noticed then how she glared.

"Do you enjoy vexing me today, Aro? Is this your new sport?" she asked, throwing down her fan into her lap. Marcus, next to her, simply sighed and continued to look melancholy next to her. Her eyes were a deep red, almost a purple, as she continued to glare from me to Aro. Interesting.

"Not at all, Caterina, my dear!" Aro did chuckle as he playfully held his hands up in surrender whilst walking forward. "I merely came to alleviate this misunderstand," he told her, smiling. For some reason, his smile reminded me of a thief about to cut an unsuspecting fool's purse strings.

Her eyes softened but were still wary. For some reason, I could not bring myself to blame her. It was then I noticed Marcus watching me. I looked to him and he did look back betwixt myself and then to Caterina a couple of times.

"A misunderstanding?" she asked cautiously. She seemed to pay no mind to Marcus. However, Aro did and gently reached for Marcus' hand. Marcus obliged.

"Hm, now that is a bit of a puzzle, is it not?" Aro smiled at Marcus as he let go of his hand after only a few seconds. Caterina watched the two for maybe a half second more before closing her eyes. She opened them again only to look directly at me. She tilted her head, confused. Slowly she raised her hand in front of her, partially blocking her view from me and moved her hand like it was not something she had seen many times before.

Slowly, she placed her hand down, lowered her head and seemed to close her eyes again. It was a half second before she lifted her head back up and a small smile played at her lips. "Hardly a puzzle at all, Aro," she stated without looking at him. She rose and gently walked over to me.

"Neither of these two have been gentlemanly enough to introduce us properly yet, have they?" she said calmly in Italian as she approached.

I offered a small smile at that. This woman was bold. She had already glared at Aro and did speak her mind to him as if she were his equal. Women in England would not have been as direct to a stranger in such casual conversation. I had not even spoken to her yet, nor been introduced, and yet she did felt like someone I should know and be comfortable around.

"Mihi nomine Carlisle est," I told her with a slight bow at the waist. Latin seemed to suit her better than the Italian that had been coming off my tongue for the past several months.

She laughed gently. "Ita vero! Ecce oculi aureus," she stated while turning slightly to include the two behind her. "It is of no wonder why this one is curious to you, Aro. Shall you add him to your collection?" she asked with an almost innocent glance at him.

Aro looked as if he were trapped. I did not understand his expression. He only watched Caterina with what did seem to be pain in his eyes. Turning fully when he did not answer immediately, "To your annuals, of course." Aro visibly relaxed and even Marcus seemed to offer the tiniest smile at the exchange. "He has a page already," Aro eventually replied.

Caterina turned back to me. If I could still blush, I would. Instead, I found my feet more interesting than normal. "Mihi nomine Caterina est," she stated with a bend of the knees and her hands gently folded in front of her. As she rose, she caught my eyes and smiled with a warmth I had not seen prior.

Gently, she reached for my arm, glancing back at Marcus and Aro only for a half of a second. Gladly, I gave it to her as if I would escort her where ever she did so please. "Come," she said, her head turning back towards me. "Let us get more aquatinted," she almost seemed to ask as we did slowly move out of the dead end of the maze and back through it.

For a few moments, as we walked across the pebbled walk, all was quiet. My mind wandered to the exchange betwixt Caterina, Aro, and Marcus. What puzzle did they mean? What was peaked their curiosity to such an extant that even Marcus seemed to have some emotion?

I did not realize we were out of the garden until I felt the slip of silk from my fingers and realized Caterina had relinquished my arm. I looked up to see her glistening in front of me with a smile upon her lips. I, of course, was cascading light from every such direction myself. It was still a concept I had yet to fully grasp.

"So do tell me," Caterina began in English, much to my surprise. Her accent was only slightly hinted at her Italian origins. I found myself wandering where she was from in her human life. "From whom did you come? Who did create you?" she asked with curiosity and something else I did not recognize brimming in her deep red eyes.

"I know not," I told her truthfully. I remembered little of the one that had created me other than he had lived in the sewers of London and spoke Latin. My human memories of him were faded at best and I did not seek him out once I was turned.

"Curious," she whispered as she turned. She raised her hand to her lips and looked as if she were to pace in her thoughts. After only a few seconds she stopped abruptly and turned back towards me.

"I do apologize from my behavior both earlier in the chapel and presently," she said as she did look upon the ground rather than directly at me. Her body language was one of shame.

"Forgiven and forgotten, my lady," I happily replied. I was far more curious as to her line of questioning and the episode back in the maze than to even think on her anger. Her anger seemed to be directed at Aro and not at me to begin with.

"Good," she stated as she looked back upon my face. She offered a weak smile. "Aro and I…do not see the world the same way," she started. Slowly, she retook my arm and began to walk to a bench slightly hidden in a corner of the courtyard garden beneath the shade. "I tend to forget to not judge any innocents he may throw in my path," she almost whispered as she sat upon the bench.

Looking at me while I sat down next to her, she quickly asked another question before I could even think of a reply to her last statement. "You did notice Marcus watching you and I when you entered the garden, did you not?"

"Indeed, I did so," I told her. I grew slightly excited at the idea I would get the answers I desired without much prodding. It was also simply comforting to speak in my native tongue. I hadn't used English greatly since my change and it felt natural to be speaking such.

"Do you know of Marcus' abilities?" she asked with an amused expression on her face. Immediately, I became nervous. Indeed, I did know of his abilities. He could see relationships. I had no desire for anything more than friendship, camaraderie at this point in my existence. Not that Caterina wasn't lovely but…

"Yes, my lady," I told her trying desperately to keep my voice even. I failed. She laughed heartily at my expression and grimace.

"Need not worry so, Carlisle!" she told me. She then held up her left hand and pointed to a ring, a wedding ring. "He did not see that type of relationship," she mused. Before I could apologize and ask her to whom she was wed, she continued on quickly. "He saw that we were of the same, I suppose you could say blood," she told me.

I blinked again. The same blood? My mother had died in childbirth leaving me an only child given that my father had not remarried. Was she an ancestor of mine? It was entirely possible given that our kind live forever. However, how far back would she be from?

Noting my confusion, she carried on. "Or, mayhaps, it would be wiser to say the same venom," she informed me. This cleared up the confusion in my head nicely. The same venom. Did she mean then that the same vampire that bit me had also turned her? Marcus could see that?

"Marcus saw that we had the same creator?" I asked carefully.

Her smile did grown and she happily, this time, slapped her fan into her lap. "Indeed!" she stated and her expression went from jubilant to mischievous. "I did so want a sister but I suppose another brother shall do as well!"

And, with that, my eyes did go wide.

Author's Note: I thought I'd end it there given how long this is getting. I think this one is about 15 pages double spaced. The previous one was about 14 pages. :-) Hopefully, y'all like it. I'm trying really hard to stay as true to the 17th c mindset as I can. If you'd like, I can add a glossary to the end for some of the outdated words I've been trying to incorporate. It's not true 17th c English, because I really don't want to have to make a "17th C English for Dummies" guide just so people can read this.

Questions? Comments? Strawberry cupcakes?