AN: Please let me know what you think about this. The next chapter should be up in about a week or two. Anyway, happy reading!
"No one knows how our kind began. There are many theories, but none have been proven. Even the most ancient of vampires have no idea. So we just accept our existence, and most of us fulfill our 'natural' role in the world." He snarled 'natural' and the scene finally took form.
A… vampire, (Carter's thoughts shied away from the word), was wandering in a dark place. It was a male, his pale skin glinting softly in the moonlight. Carter turned to Samuel to ask a question, but he just shook his head and nodded toward the scene as it changed and a new one began unfolding before them.
"Most vampires are nomads, roaming the northern parts of the world in relative anonymity. But, there are some of us who live in the south, the places where the sunshine is never-ending." Samuel smiled ruefully, and the scene of the vampires walking with humans in a cloudy city shifted. Sunlight took the place of clouds, and another pair of vampires took the place of the others.
Carter blinked in awe as the sunlight turned the vampires' skin into a glittering coat of diamonds. "Whoa," she breathed, smiling at the beauty of the pair. "Do all vampires do that?"
"Yes," Samuel laughed. "That is why most of us choose to stay in the north, under the cover of the clouds. The less human attention we attract, the less danger we are in of attracting the Volturi."
"Volturi?" Carter asked, the better part of her mind still marveling over the glittering beauty of the vampires in front of her.
"A royal family of sorts," Samuel said, smiling at her unconcealed awe. "They enforce the only rule in my world, the world that is now yours as well... Keep the secret." He turned back as the scene began to shift again.
A beautiful ornate chamber, like the one you would associate with castles and fairy tales, appeared around them. Three thrones sat in the middle of the massive room.
"Aro, Marcus, and Caius." As he said each name, a vampire would appear in one of the thrones. Two of them had pitch black hair; the third's hair was white as snow. Their eyes were as red as the blood they surely drank. "The Ancients of the Volturi," he continued as more vampires materialized around the three. "They have been together so long that they consider themselves a family. For thousands of years they have enforced that one rule, making sure that we remain unseen by the human population. Only recently did many of us discover that they had been overstepping their bounds, acting as collectors of powers and people." Samuel's face twisted in disgust, and the scene changed to reflect his feelings.
A snowy field appeared before them with two groups of vampires standing across from each other, clearly enemies. The Volturi Samuel had showed her were there, leading an army of grey-robed warriors. The opposing force was much smaller, patched together of many different vampires, each standing resolute and ready for whatever was about to happen. As she and Samuel watched, nearly 20 massive wolves materialized out of the woods behind the small group.
Carter gasped in surprise, crouching defensively. Samuel squeezed her hand and smiled. She stood swiftly, embarrassed that she had forgotten what she was seeing wasn't real. She looked back to the wolves, confusion covering the embarrassment on her face.
"They are werewolves… shape-shifters, if you will." He said, answering her unspoken question. "Their ancestors merged their soul, with those of wolves. They were talented in the spiritual ways when one of their own forced their leader out of his body and took over." The white haired vampire called Aro had begun to cross the field, his arms held open in a nonthreatening manner. "Thus, what you see there."
"I don't understand."
Samuel nodded towards Aro as he retreated across the field. Both armies waited anxiously as he and the other three ancients formed a circle and began to council. "After that battle within their own tribe, they ran into vampires and found that they were able to fight them. That became their reason for existing." The ancients turned to face the others in their army and spoke of battle. Across the field desperation and resignation colored the defensive stances of those who opposed the Volturi army. "A few years ago they made an interesting alliance with the Cullen coven." He nodded towards the desperate army." One of their leaders imprinted, or became permanently tied to a member of their coven." Samuel's golden eyes shone in admiration, and the world swirled around them again, zooming in on part of the Cullen's army.
"After the Volturi were exposed to be corrupt, they lost some of their influence." He smiled wryly. "Much like the Catholic church during the Renaissance." He glanced over at her. "What?"
"The point?" she asked, arching her eyebrow at him.
"Ah, yes. So they lost some of their influence, but their power stayed strong," he smirked at her again, "well, at least strong enough to enforce the rule of anonymity. They no can no longer rule over us like they did, though, and this is enough to change many things about our world." His voice filled with pride as he looked back to the Cullens who now stood in front of them, frozen, like characters paused on the television. "They are the ones who brought about the change to our world, who now lead the 'fight' against the Volturi and those who side with them."
Carter stared in wonder at the figures before her, each beautiful and powerful in their own way. Her gaze was drawn to their eyes, which, unlike the Volturi's blood-red irises, were the same glowing gold as Samuel's.
"Their eyes-" she murmured; she could feel Samuel watching her, assessing what she did and thought. She turned to meet his gaze. "Why are their eyes different?"
He smiled gently and squeezed her hand. "That is what makes them different, what makes us willing to follow them." He gestured grandly to the figures still frozen before them, his smile growing more beautiful with each second. "They found a way to defy our nature, to live with the humans of this world, not murder them." His smile was blinding now, his golden eyes aglow with… awe, it seemed.
Samuel turned to her, his happiness lighting up his whole face. "They drink the blood of animals instead of that of humans. They teach others of our kind this peaceful way of life, just as Jasper," he nodded to a blonde vampire covered in scars, "taught me."
His smile faded slightly and the world returned to normal. The Cullens disappeared and the trees replaced them. Samuel gazed silently at their hands, still twined together. He stroked the back of her hand gently, and then hesitated. His eyes darted to hers nervously, clearly wondering if this was alright. She nodded and smiled, squeezing his hand and gesturing for him to continue.
"I would like to teach you as well," he said slowly. "But I will not force this on you."
She met his eyes squarely, and nodded again, her grip on his hand firm. "I don't want to kill humans."
Samuel held her gaze, his eyes intent. "This won't be easy. It takes years to perfect control. There is a great possibility that you might come across a human and lose yourself." He paused, watching her reaction. "You might kill someone, even if you don't want to."
Seeing the truth in his words, Carter took a deep breath, calming herself. She pushed her fear back and nodded. "I understand," she whispered. "But it will still be better than killing someone on purpose every day. And I will pray for strength," she continued, determination making her voice stronger, "so that maybe I will be able to keep from killing humans." She stopped suddenly, her face contorted with confusion. "Now what?"
Samuel laughed, loud and long, his laughter like bells, more beautiful than anything Carter had ever heard. "That," he said, squeezing her hand and chuckling. "That is the easy part."
AN: Hope you enjoyed it!
