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"Yes, I thought Gina did a LOVELY job with the dress code, don't you?" Aro purred.

"Yes," Caius snapped trying to end the conversation.

"As always," Marcus grumbled unamused.

Aro noticed the lack of pep and turned to Alec, "What do YOU think?" Alec didn't respond. He was gripping the banister so tightly his knuckles were turning whiter than usual as he glared down into the dance floor. "Alec?" No answer. He was completely focused on something, entranced even, as if he'd turned his gift on himself, "Alec!" He snapped out of it and turned around expectantly. "What's come over you mi caro ragazzo?" Aro put his hands on Alec's shoulders and tried to find his focal point in the swirling crowd. "Ohhhh, I see, you must have seen someone you liked. Which one is she?"

Alec smirked, "She's just outside of the madness. Tall, bright pink dress, tiara."

"The brunette?"

"Purple mask?"

"Yes."

"That's her then."

Aro stopped for a moment to analyze the girl. He found her also attractive, with her dark hair and curves she reminded him of the ancient Roman women. Her confidence and beauty made her statuesque even and the best part was, she looked like she was changed at the same age Alec was. A grin crept across his face, "Lei è molto…bella."

Alec nodded in agreement before sharply turning and exiting the box, "I wish to dance with her."

"WONDERFUL idea!" Aro clapped, proud of himself. He then settled back into his seat to think. "Demetri," He called.

"Yes Aro?"

"It appears there's a young lady who's caught our dear Alec's eye."

"Charming."

"Isn't it though?" He mused for a moment before continuing, "Watch them. If things are going well, send for them. We need to be introduced at once. I'm afraid I'm not as easily enchanted as her new suitor."

"Certainly," Demetri gave a slight bow before passing the door off to the next visitor who happened to be Jane.

"Good evening Aro, Marcus, Caius."

"Why don't you look precious?" Aro looked her over, "Darling dress, red is definitely your color."

"As much as I appreciate the flattery, I'm looking for my brother."

"Oh, I wouldn't be concerned. Alec is probably just enjoying himself downstairs. If I could guess I would bet he's dancing."

She rolled her eyes, "It seems my male counterpart lacks self control."

"Jane, Jane, Jane. Alec is simply taking part in a pleasant change of scenery, as you should be doing too. I assure you, you have NOTHING to worry about." Jane nodded and shut the doors behind her on her way out. Aro smiled and propped his head on his hand, "Aside from the possibility of your brother finding a NEW favorite female."

Alec pushed his way through the flocks of vampires as he pulled his mask back down over his eyes. He was diligently scanning the shimmering room for the one person he actually desired to be sociable with. The crowd thinned as he neared the walls. Finally, he spotted her, swaying to the music alone on a bench. Her hair swung, and so did her hips, and he was hooked. He approached her directly. She noticed him walking towards her and looked around making sure it really was her he was walking towards. She gave him the, "Me?" motion. He smiled and nodded, giving a bow. If vampires could blush, she would look like a beet. He extended his hand, trying to cover up his anxiety with a cologne of confidence. After taking a moment to steady his voice, "May I?"

Her smile was no longer controllable; it emerged from her cool façade, "Of course." She reached upwards, placing her delicate, gloved hand onto his massive mitt. He effortlessly yanked her up, though he wasn't intending for it to be that rough. She almost stumbled onto her feet, smacking into his chest with a gasp. Her head jerked upwards a little to meet his eyes, he was only an inch or so taller because of her three inch boots. Height though happened to be the last thing on either of their minds.

That would've been one of those moments in movies where the camera zooms back and forth between the faces, then eyes of the young lovers. A cheesy love song would begin as visible fireworks went off and a dreamy montage progressed. Unfortunately for them, it wasn't a movie, but in their heads things along those lines were happening. Meanwhile, in reality, they were gawking at each other, eyes wide and sparkly locked onto each others, mouths hanging, and drool was practically pooling. After what seemed like only a second to them, they snapped out of it. She shrugged her hair off her shoulder. He swallowed hard, grinning like an idiot, and lead her out onto the floor. As they stopped in the middle, he reached to place his hand on her back. After all, it was the proper dance position. It only helped that he was just dying to get his hands on her anyway.

She began raising her arm to put on his shoulder, but hesitated, "I'm not sure what kind of a girl you take me for, but typically I get the guy's name before we get this close."

He laughed, "I'm Alec." She smiled and relaxed a little, resting her left hand on his right shoulder. "And you are?"

"Marietta." They picked up on the dance and went with the flow of the crowd, straining to speak over the loud music.

"The name suggests Italian origin but your voice suggests otherwise."

"Oh…I'm from Atlanta."

"No wonder you know how to dance. I like it. The southern belle dances differently than all of these European women."

Marietta laughed, "No no, I can say southern. For you, the south is Venice." She stopped speaking for a moment, as hard as it was for someone as typically talkative as she, noticing his strong hand on the small of her back how it firmly, but not roughly, guided her in the right direction. That prompted her to tag in the nerves on the hand he was holding. His hand was so much bigger than hers. Just the contact made her happy, though his strong spiced cologne didn't do any harm either. I could get USED to THIS! She thought to herself as she forced herself to speak again breaking the silence and his intimate stare, "So, how old are you, Alec?"

Alec considered what to say carefully as to not scare her. He didn't have to talk to her long before he realized how NEW she was, but he ultimately decided that honesty was the best policy, answering, "Three hundred and twenty four." She gasped a little, almost panicking, Damn! Since when does Dracula look like a heartthrob?! Becoming suddenly aware of her alarm, trying to dodge any awkward silences, he dipped her, "And how old are YOU milady?"

"Sigh, you just broke rule number one; NEVER ask a woman her age." He pulled her back to her feet, "But if you MUST know I'm three hundred and eight…years younger than you are."

"So you haven't been…like THIS for long at all?"

"Just over a year. You look about my age though. When you…became like this, I'd say you were no younger than thirteen but no older than sixteen."

"That's about right. You're smart, aren't you?"

"Not to brag, but uh, I'm taking all honors and AP classes. Not to mention a perfect score on my SAT and a genius IQ level. I've yet to take the ACT and or the MCAT yet, but once I do, I'll let you know how I do. I also speak five languages."

"I'm impressed."

"You should be." She smiled, nerves melting. She's fiery isn't she?

"I assume English is your primary language."

"You assume correctly."

"Then what's your second best?"

"¿Mi lingua segunda? Español, por supuesto."

"Excellente. ¿Y los otros?"

"Francés, italiano, y latín y estoy intentando apprender aléman."

He smiled smugly. Not only was she a total knockout, but intelligent too. He stopped to admire how small her gloved hand was in his, and how his hand fell perfectly around her curves, taking up a portion of her straight back. He noted the posture; she'd obviously had some time of cotillion, meaning she grew up privileged. She had an elegant air about her, but still high energy. He could feed off of it. He LOVED it. Not to mention that she smelled like Heaven. He'd never encountered a girl so delicate in demeanor but strong in mind. He never Aro would love her too. He wanted desperately to move out of the craziness, which reminded him of the garden, "So, what do you think of the party?"

She lit up, "It's incredible! All of the decorations, the costumes, the music, the dancing." She sighed, "It's like a dream. You see, I'm a bit of a theatre fanatic. This reminds me of a certain song from certain musical, both of which happen to be favorites of mine. Being part of it has always been kind of a dream of mine."

This was his chance, "I'd like to hear about it, but first, I want to show you something. If you could come with me," Alec stopped the dance, without releasing her hand.

"Uh-oh. They warned me about boys wanting to show me things…"

Alec couldn't help but laugh at that, as if he didn't have the most honorable intentions of his own, "Not like that, I promise. It's more of a place actually."

"Hmmm, ah what the heck?" Marietta followed closely behind him, up the stairs, around the room, down a corridor, and down more stairs. It was like a museum to her and she loved every minute of it, though she couldn't decide if it was being in a castle, being with prince charming, or the combination of the two. Finally, there was a light aside from the smoky orange glow of candles. It was clear, blue, moonlight. "Where are we going?"

He turned around as she stopped short, faces just inches apart. He couldn't help but crack a smile that she could acknowledge thanks to the moon, "Just trust me."

She heard running water and was getting anxious. Was this going to be like a scene from one of those kidnap movies where he was going to steal her innocence before drowning her in a lake? She hoped not. She felt oddly at ease with Alec, which said a lot considering she was typically such a tense person. Suddenly, the musty castle air was replaced with that of the outdoors. She took a deep breath enjoying it and taking in the unexpected aroma of flowers. Up ahead, the wall turned into railing.

"We're here, but um, close your eyes."

"Am I going to open them in a white van?"

"What happened to trust me?"

"I never AGREED to that." She corrected him as he cut her short by putting his hands over her eyes and easing her forward.

"And viola," He removed his hands, revealing one of the most beautiful gardens she'd ever seen. It looked like the set of Romeo and Juliet. Tuscan view as the backdrop of the beautiful roses and other flowers and stone benches surrounding a fountain with cherubs spurting water. She unintentionally held onto his hands, "Oh my God…this is…WOW…" As he noticed her hands, she yanked them away heading down the stairs, completely entranced.

"I've always thought it looked like-"

"Verona." She finished, touching a pink rose.

"Now would you like to tell me about your theatrical abilites?"

"I'm a triple threat, singing, dancing, acting. I like it all. I'll sing anything from country to show tunes-"

"Considering your favorite musical, I would assume you can do a little bit of operatic vocals as well."

She smiled, "Yes, I can."

"If it's not too much to ask, please, honor me with a song.'

She blushed, "Which one?"

"Any one you like."

"I usually don't just sing for people out of the blue."

He leaned against the railing watching her, how beautiful the moonlight glimmered off her face, "So am I just another person?"

"No, I suppose not." It was quiet as she mustered up the courage, but not enough to face him. She pretended to be overly interested in a bush as she gave a couple soft notes, anticipating a reaction from him. He gave a pleased sigh, spellbound. She felt encouraged so she sang a little melodic verse then stopped.

"Why did you stop?" He snapped up.

"Oh, I didn't want to seem overly eager or whatever."

"No need to worry…" A previously unexperienced giddy sensation swept over him as he began down the stairs, "Your voice is just as beautiful as you are."

This was one of those moments she wanted to shout really and do a happy dance, so it was quite the struggle for her to maintain composure. Marietta turned towards him and inhaled quickly, "Your mask, you took it off."

"Is that a problem?" He asked, face becoming more serious as he approached her.

"No," She watched how the moon reflected off his crimson eyes; dark eye brows, strong jaw. She was trying to soak everything in, "Excuse me for saying so, but…you're…handsome." She could've killed herself. Out of all the words in the English language she could've used to describe his sex appeal, she chose the word that grandmother's use for their four year old grandsons.

He tried to hide a grin, "You sound…surprised?"

"No, it's not that." So much for being comfortable around him.

Alec was getting closer, "Alright…but I bet you're far better looking than I am." He reached up towards her mask. She didn't shy away. The mask was removed. He was taken aback. "Wow…you're...angelic."

"Now I feel stupid for saying handsome."

He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. She gulped seeing where this was going. It was getting quiet. The air got heavier. She couldn't take it, "Alec?"

"Hm?"

"You know how I said I'm a triple threat?"

"Yes,"

"Well, theatre isn't my only talent-I also have one of those vampire gifts." She almost shouted at him, nerves taking over. Being a Volturi, he should have perked up and questioned her about it, but, being a teenage boy overtook that and he was so in awe with her. "I think I should tell you now because its, well, I can read people's desires slash plans, so, in a way, I know what you're thinking."

He almost stopped, noticing he was putting her on edge, and savoring every bit of it, "I'm going to test you, what do I want?"

"W-w-well, um, you want to…" Her voice trailed off as she realized he had his hands on her arms. She got scooted closer both elated and terrified at the same time. He was watching her lips moved as she spoke, almost salivating. She was in agony, seeing what was going to happen but why was he taking so long?

"Don't strain yourself, actions speak louder than words anyway." And with that, he closed to agonizing distance, at first barely brushing his lips against hers, then tightening his grip on her arms and going in for the kill. She was almost resistant, hesitant, which was to be expected with her first kiss which he quickly discovered it was. He moved his hands to her waist, at which point she gave in, and kissed back, every nerve in her body electric. Her hands drifted to his face, totally into it, excited, never wanting the movie magic moment to end. The sparks would have flown, the music would have played, but they both couldn't have been happier or more surprised with the faint violins barely audible over the gushing fountain in their own little version of Verona.

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