15. MISTAKE

It was the sound of laughter that finally pulled Abby out of the nightmare. She woke up to see Felix, Demetri, and Heidi standing over her. They seemed to think it was a very funny thing to watch this mortal screaming in her sleep.

"Have a bad dream?" Heidi asked through her chuckles.

Suddenly Abby was very embarrassed. Her face went bright red as she climbed out of the hammock. "You guys heard that huh?"

The trio broke into another riot of laughter.

"Your face was priceless!" Felix laughed.

Abby didn't want to stand there to be ridiculed any longer so she just turned and walked away while the three vampires continued to stand there and laugh.

"So we all know how Corin feels about Abby but how does she feel about him?" Demetri asked Heidi.

"I've looked into her desires but all I see is her desire for the well being of the twins. She also desires for her nightmares to stop. Oh! That was just too funny! Almost makes me miss dreaming." Heidi started laughing again.

"So she doesn't have the hots for Corin?" Felix asked.

"Not the way he would like her too!" Heidi giggled.

Although Abby was far enough away now that she couldn't hear what they were saying she could still hear their fits of laughter crack through the silence. Even if she was changed into a vampire, would they ever accept her? Again, Abby missed Corin's friendship and the way he looked after her.

It was getting to be later in the evening now. All the other humans on the streets would be going to bed soon but Abby was now wide awake after her long nap in the courtyard. She found her way back into the castle but everything was dark since the light no longer filtered through the windows. Abby wished that Corin's electricity was set up through the whole building so that she might find her way.

In the dark she found the staircase and began following it up. She counted three flights of stairs, which was the level her room was on. She wandered past the turret and down the long corridor. Every door began to look the same and she wasn't sure which one was hers.

When she got to a door that had the possibility of being hers she gave it a gentle knock. No one answered. She slowly pushed the door open. She peeked inside and instantly knew that this was not her room at all. The light of the full moon filtered in from the window. She was lucky that the moon happened to be on this side of the building, otherwise the room would have been as pitch black dark as the rest of the castle.

The room looked dusty and old, as if no one had been here in a very long time. However, this room was not bare like hers had been. There was a large canopy bed and as the gentle night breeze blew in from the window it made the curtains and the fabric hanging from the canopy billow in the wind.

Abby walked into the room. There was something about it that made her want to explore it. Near the bed was a large dresser with an oval mirror resting upon it. Near the mirror were old candles covered in cobwebs that looked like they hadn't been lit in decades, perhaps centuries.

As she stepped up to the old dresser she saw something that didn't look like it belonged here. Everything else was old, rusted, and dusty except for the small object sitting on the dresser in front of the mirror. Abby picked up the cross with red jewels that hung on a chain. It was a beautiful piece of jewelry. She wanted to try it on.

Abby tried to look at her own reflection in the mirror but it was covered in dust and cobwebs. While holding the red jeweled cross in one hand she used her other to wipe the dust out from the mirror. With one swipe across the glass she saw the dark shadow standing behind her with glowing red eyes filled with rage.

"GET OUT OF HERE!" A deep voice growled.

Abby felt the cross ripped from her hand as the dark figure grabbed her shoulder and threw her back, making her body slide across the floor towards the door. Her body hit the wall with a thud and she quickly got up into a sitting position, trying to look the man in the face while sheer terror covered her own.

In the moonlight, she recognized him. His face had always been a blank, expressionless stare. For the first time, Abby saw an emotion on him. Abby saw pure anger and hatred.

"I-I'm sorry Marcus." Abby stuttered.

"JUST GET OUT!" He hollered at her.

She quickly got up and slipped out the door while shutting it behind her. She began running as fast as she could, not sure which direction she was going in, the halls were much too dark. Her heart raced as the fear gripped her fragile body. She was so scared that she didn't even notice the aching from where her body had been smacked into the wall. She would have kept running until her body gave out if it wasn't for the other ice cold body that stood in her path. Abby slid to a stop before she ran into the other vampire in the dark.

"Come with me." A woman's voice instructed. She took Abby by the hand and guided her into another room. Abby was too frightened to object.

The woman closed the door behind them. They were now on another side of the castle so no moonlight came in through the windows. She went over to a table and a match flared in the darkness. She began to light the candles on the table and Abby could finally see who she was.

"You're Athenodora, right?" Abby asked. She remembered seeing her in the turret on the day that Eleazar had asked for permission to leave. From the notes that Corin had given her she remembered that Athenodora was Caius' mate and that she was ungifted.

"Yes." The red haired woman said softly. Abby noticed that Athenodora's skin was just as papery as the other leaders. It was a shame; she was probably once very beautiful.

"Why did you bring me here?" Abby asked.

Athenodora looked very sad. "I heard what happened between you and Marcus. You must understand that no one is allowed to go into that room. I'm surprised Corin didn't tell you but he probably never thought that out of the hundreds of doors in this place you would choose to open that one."

"Why is no one allowed?" Abby asked innocently.

Athenodora sighed. "Marcus' mate, Didyme, died a very long time ago. That used to be his old room where he had spent all his time with her when she was alive. They've laid in that bed together, they've looked in that mirror together. That room is Marcus' own torture chamber. We respect his wishes when he asks us to never enter it."

Abby nodded as she understood. "How did Didyme die?"

The question pierced Athenodora's unbeating heart. She told Abby the story that everyone knew, the lie that everyone had accepted. "Didyme was not only Marcus' mate but she was also Aro's sister. When we were about to go to war against the Romanians, they killed her to send the message to Aro that he shouldn't go up against them, that he wouldn't stand a chance. It was enough to send Marcus over the edge.

"He was once very charismatic, charming, and funny. You wouldn't think it now but he was happy once. When she died, Marcus wanted to kill the Romanians in revenge. He thought that avenging her death would somehow make him feel better but he still felt the hollow ache inside him. Didyme was gone and there was nothing he could do to bring her back."

"That's horrible!" Abby's eyes welled up at the sad story.

"So you see, Abby, you must never go in there again. You must respect Marcus and obey his wishes. I know he frightened you but he is not a bad man. He is just very lost." Athenodora's love for her coven-brother was obvious.

"Can I ask you a question?" Abby asked.

Athenodora smiled. "Go right ahead."

"Why is your skin different from the others?" Abby asked the question with innocence, she didn't know that it would hurt her feelings.

Athenodora's smile faded. "I wasn't expecting that question but I guess you should know. A long time ago Sulpicia made a mistake. She went out and created thousands of immortal children. The children couldn't be controlled and they were too vicious and wild. We call it 'The Plague of the Immortal Children', the time when they killed far too many and nearly ruined our secret. Because of her mistake, Aro has kept her here in the palace. She is not allowed to go out without his supervision. She was so lonely that she begged me to stay within the castle with her. I love her so I promised her that I would not leave. We were the first two to have our skin change.

"It is from being immobile for too long, from not going out and hunting our own prey but instead having Heidi bring the prey to us. Aro, Caius, and Marcus began staying within the castle walls as well but for a different reason. They are safer here, protected within these walls. They do not risk themselves unless they have to."

Learning about the history of the Volturi was very interesting to Abby. She would have liked to stay up and listen to Athenodora all night if she could.

"Let's get you back to your room and keep you out of trouble for the rest of the night." Athenodora smiled at Abby.

She led her into the hall but this time carried a candle with them so that Abby could see the way. They got to her room and Athenodora went in with her. The room looked much better now with all the new furniture that Corin had made for her.

"Corin's been treating you well, hasn't he?" Athenodora asked.

"Yes, he has been a good friend."

The ancient vampire smiled. "Well maybe we should paint your door a different color tomorrow so that you can find it more easily. In the meantime, have a good night." With that she exited the room but left the burning candle with Abby.

Abby climbed onto her new big bed and settled under the covers. She hadn't been tired before but now sleepiness was creeping back in. Perhaps it was the incident with Marcus that had exhausted her. Abby knew the nightmares would return so she wasn't surprised when she found herself running through the garden again.

She expected to find the other version of herself, the changed one, but she didn't. The garden was empty but still dark and smothered with ivy. There was no one else in the garden besides her and the angelic statues.

Then Abby saw something red glimmer out of the corner of her eye. She turned to look and recognized the red jeweled cross hanging from one of the angel statues necks. She walked closer to the angel to inspect the cross. It was exactly the same as the one in Marcus' bedroom. Abby reached up a hand to touch the cross but then jerked it back in surprise. The angel began weeping tears of blood. The red droplets trickled down the marble angel's face.

Abby didn't know why but she was frightened again. Why was this cross here? What was so important about it? And why did the angel cry tears of blood?