Hello Everyone :)

so i was watching last night the music video of Never Let Me Go by Florence And The Machine (the song i quoted in the last chapter). and the dude who plays Florence's love interest was strangely familiar. Ironically, it is Jamie Campbell Bower, the dude that plays Cauis in the Saga movies!

And apparently, Charlie Bewley has a twitter! i didn't know that! it's alchemission and he's verified :)

Anyway, this chapter contains a major spin-off. so PLEASE, in case you don't remember or you were confused about the last chapter, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE re-read it before jumping to this one.

And once again, Thank you Istvry for being my amazing beta! you are awesome

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer is like a genie. through her wide imagination, she was able to create a new world full of possibilities and new prospects. A promising land where everything is possible. We are just having fun analysing those possibilities, from every angle and every perspective :)

Speaking of Perspective, this chapter is from Demitri's point of view.

enjoy!

Your mind works like a programmed computer. It is surprisingly able to understand a language no one else in the world can decipher, yet decode. Well, with the tiny exception of Bella Swan, of course. But again, no software ever created was flawless. Every system has a hole somewhere, and she was more than willing to dig that hellhole herself. It frustrated you at first, how a fickle little human could overpower you in such a way until you saw the look on Jane's face when she, too, was blocked out of Bella Swan's mind.

The ugly truth is that you failed in getting in her head, yet she succeeded in creeping in yours. She made you question yourself, your gift, your morals, and most dangerously your place in this world.

Your mind is also one of a strategic, a predator with a "legal" license to kill. A Killer hired to serve justice. Unlike Jane, you try to represent the Volturi diplomatically, yet it is hardly the case. Backstabbing an outlaw was never considered a crime in your master's rulebook. Therefore, it is not in yours. You function the way Aro convinces you to function. You never question it since they provide you everything. They treat you like a jewel, a luxury you are sure is not available anywhere else in the world. Although never announced and always allured to, you know mistakes are not allowed. Let alone betrayals.

And that is the problem, betrayal is an absurd thought that your dead heart cannot comprehend. It is not an act of purely intentional rebellion. But either way, as soon as you figured it out, you knew you are a doomed man.

You find yourself in a crowded labyrinth. It does not frighten you anymore like it used you when you were a human, an amateur, a newborn. You already know every street, every intersection, every dead-end but more importantly, every person you encounter. It is not a foreign place, your mind, since you know and met everyone populating it. You search the maze for her, the wolf, the soon-to-be "colleague". But you find nothing.

She is shielded.

Yet you know already know where to find her. The second Aro made up his mind to proceed with this plan, the message was considered delivered to the concerned parties: you meet us or there would be some deadly consequences.

As you get closer to the meeting spot, a certain green meadow, you listen in for one heartbeat; she was there to meet you alone. She must have told the Cullens and her pack to back off. Playing tough, huh. It makes all of you smug, even Jane crooked her not-so-angelical smile. You smile wickedly at the idea of how idiotic she seems to be.

This will be easy, you tell yourself. You are already planning how to get even with Felix for amputating your arm during your last "friendly fight". You stand in the last row as always, since your task is usually done at this stage of a mission. You take the first look at Aro's future pet.

She is fine-looking, a muscled lean silhouette, a chocolate tan in contrast with the moon's reflection on her skin, fierce and focused human eyes, slick black hair cut in a careless yet brutal fashion, a pumping heart, blood in her veins. Everything you are not, and do not wish to be. Everything about her, every curve, every feature, and every tic is inherited, reminding you she comes from a centuries old civilization background. Her demeanor tells you a lot about her temper. A tight scowl was set on her face.

But all of that is not was confuses you.

You suddenly sense a violent sudden urge to protect her. For a moment, you are taken in a haze unaware of what is going on around you. Your eyes are in slits focused on the She-wolf.

Leah.

Annoyed that even in your mind, you cannot help but feel that ping of over protectiveness consuming you, drowning you in a sea of suspicion, self-doubt and confusion when you as much as think her name.

Your confusion and annoyance are beginning to mold into a dangerously unfamiliar emotion: desperation. You start chasing the demons out of your mind, struggling to find the key to break the malediction. A curse fate has thrown on you as a punishment for all your dreadful sins. In a feeble attempt in getting rid of this feeling, you try to convince yourself that she is perfectly capable of protecting herself. The last rope she needs to add to her tangled mess of a life is a Volturi guard clinging to her for dear life. You are self-conscience; you know she will never trust you with her life, will never open up to you, will never be yours like you all of a sudden desire her to.

"Tyger! Tyger! Burning Bright

In the forests of the night,

What immortal hand or eye,

Dare frame thy fearful symmetry"*

You are suddenly extremely aware of your catastrophic situation. Without even having heard a word, you know how Jane would be playing one of her wicked games soon. You begin to panic as the paranoia starts drowning you, bursting new bubbles of dark death-involved thoughts. You are too frightened to move, to do something about it. You are walking on thin ice, thinking the least move you make would give you away. You're more aware of Chelsea's manipulative powers than ever. In the back of your mind, you are already conscious you will get busted. And it is not even your fault Leah started to spread in every cell of your brain, every synapse, every nerve that controls the least movement you make, like lethal doses of venom. The only thing that remains intact in your brain department is your gift. That is what differentiates Leah's influence on you from Bella's.

In a millisecond, everything is put in perspective for you as Leah starts shaking. You know Jane is winning this round from her devilish smirk. You try to compose your expression as much as you can so it will not give you away. Being the soulless sculpture that you are, it will not be too hard, or that's what you try to make yourself believe. And if Chelsea is a cynical manipulative bitch, you just hope she will not expose you right here and now.

Leah has calmed down, but you are now boiling. Jane being the worst show woman in the history of showmen, is ready to pull her world widely known last trick, unsuccessfully obviously. Frustrated, she tries to inflict her gift harder. Nothing. It makes you secretly smug. You should have warned her. But you should have known from the moment you realized she was meeting you alone, forcing Leah into joining the Volturi is not an option. Jane is suddenly not good for the task anymore. You take advantage of this tiny detail to make your move.

It is time to interfere.

Not even caring or even aware how the hell you managed to surpass Felix and Santiago, you unconsciously place you hand on Jane's shoulder. But you should have known better. It was a mistake and Jane will make sure you pay for it. Everyone knows Jane loathes to be touched since she was raped as a fragile human little girl. Aro and Alec were the only vampires she fully trusts. Plus Jane has her pride, a dignity to preserve and a reputation to protect.

So as much as it hurts, it does not surprise you that you instantly fell to your knees growling in agony. The pain is familiar yet indescribable, it is a sort of pain that you will never get over: it is one hundred times worse than any pain you have ever experienced to a point it challenged the pain of the transformation. Even though you have suffered it more than your advanced mind can recount, it hurts badly, every single time.

But at least, you are relieved: Leah is not the center of attention of the ruthless predators encircling her anymore. You are well aware of Chelsea's gaze throwing daggers at you, but you risk a quick glimpse at Leah from the very corner of your eye anyway. Being naïve as she is, Leah does not seem to comprehend what is going on, why you would stupidly add gasoline to Jane's wrath like this.

Now, you are sure it was a foolish move. You cannot show neither Jane nor Leah any sign of weakness. You try to restrain your screams of pain as much as possible. A human would have died from hyperventilation in your position. You need Leah to trust you to be able to save her. The surge to protect her is too powerful to be condensed, too profound to be denied anymore. As for Jane, every agonized sound you make is considered the absurd equivalent to an ego boost in her dictionary.

Feeding her ego becomes tiring after four centuries of constant torment and suffering. You try a new tactic you learned from poor Loretta. You flash Jane the best smile you can manage. It looks more like a grimace but she seems to understand your intentions. Jane hates to be challenged, especially when it comes to her gift. You could easily see the steam evaporating from her dead cold skin. And little Jane always gets what she wants, so if the pain was slightly endurable before, it sure as hell makes you want to beg to be killed now.

"It is an illusion. It is an illusion. The pain is an illusion. Leah cannot see me like this," is a mantra you keep repeating in your head in a loud fast voice, like some sort of sacred prayer or some miraculous ritual that would save you.

You are left mercilessly kicking and occasionally screaming on the ground for what seemed like hours. Your bones are burning, your skin is melting, and your brain cells are exploding at a high speed. No one dares to cross Jane, even though you know Alec and Chelsea are the only ones who could without it backfiring at them. Thankfully Leah stays forged to her spot staggered and too shocked to interfere in the Volturi Household's fights.

Already bored of this sadistic theatrical scene unfolding in front of his bright burgundy eyes, Alec finally consoles his sister by brushing his fingertips on her hand. Jane looks at her brother in a respectful yet criticizing eye. But the fire is retreating ever so slowly from your whole body. You are instantly freed from Jane's claws. You give Alec a significant glance which he does not react to.

You act like you have not been humiliated by a fourteen -year -old- looking brat. You need to come up with a plan and fast. The situation is starting to grow on you. It is a delicate matter. Every move requires clever planning, every word a double meaning. You know you need to handle the matters yourself.

"I shall speak with her" you murmur emotionlessly, not even daring to see Jane's reaction. You have never faced Jane down. But you pray she will not suspect anything. If the matter could be rationally discussed with Chelsea, Jane would definitely have a blast getting rid of Leah herself. But the little devil remains unmoving which is always considered a positive sign.

You turn to face Leah. She is obviously puzzled and dumbfound of what happened. Her expression hardened as you look at her. As you are scrutinizing her venomously, your head is racing, miserably digging for a promising plan that does not involve anyone's death. You are making mental notes of your priorities and your requirements. But as for now, your main concern is Leah's trust and safety.

So in a soothing diplomatic voice, you start:

"I apologize on Jane's behalf. The Volturi means you no actual harm. You know the reason we are sent here, and we truthfully would like to negotiate some of the deal's terms with you"

You feel a tiny … thing squeezing your heart… literally. You instantly know what is going on. Chelsea's using her magical potion, on you. She is simultaneously trying to fracture your sudden "bond" to Leah and stimulate your link to the Volturi. While she has succeeded in the latter task, the first was an appalling failure. The string attaching you to her is obviously indestructible.

Even Chelsea cannot fix you. Your software is starting to dysfunction. It is being burned down by illusions and images that hold a much more powerful grip on you than Jane, Aro and even Chelsea. This situation is way more dangerous and self-destroying than experiencing mortification and rejection from Bella Swan's impenetrable mind. While Bella stroke a nerve blocking your gift out, Leah reached something deeper than what The Volturi and Bella could not reach.

Speaking of which, you research the maze for any trace of the Cullens. Unsurprisingly, they are all off-radar. Instantaneously, you are furious. How could they? How could they feed her to the lions like this? They stood up for them when they needed her. The woman is tough but they should know better.

"But first, why do you not go let your cowards of friends make their appearance? I am quite astonished they easily threw you in the fire like this" you were not planning on hiding your contempt and spitefulness when it comes to the Cullens, even though a plan pops in your head. The efficiency of it depends on several factors including most importantly Leah and…

She hisses at you. You could not stand her expression, that expression of pure abhorrence and loathing. It is getting harder and harder to keep your cold Volturi guard demeanor in front of her, when all you want is just to soothe her.

"It is kind of a shame you do not appreciate the good you have been blessed with. For the negotiation to be fair, your pathetic excuse of friends will act as the witnesses in your party".

You desperately want her to pick on the hidden message in every word you say. She glances at you in a furious yet curious manner. You shamelessly meet her eye trying optically to project everything you are feeling towards her into her eyes. She gives a faint nod, starts to vigilantly back away before metamorphosing into a wolf.

Once she was out of earshot, you hear Chelsea heaving a sigh. You take a moment before facing the rest of the Volturi guards. They all remained unmoving, soundlessly questioning your intentions. You are scared. This is the moment the rest of your life depends on. You need to be careful. They must not suspect anything.

It was Felix who inquiries you first. "What was that all about, Demitri?"

You give him a reproachable look before revealing the first set of cards in your deck of trick. "None of our gifts are efficient enough or capable of piercing through Bella Swan's shield, so making her forcefully join the Volturi guards is not an option. And Aro wants her badly. Thus we need to try a new strategy. Her bonds with her pack are already fickle and breakable. So we need to gain her trust. This rather accomplished by showing her we are not afraid to face them down, we are still in charge of the situation and that we are not hiding anything…"

You curse yourself internally and hope no one noticed your tiny slip. Your eyes hesitantly drift to Chelsea who is not even meeting your eye. You seriously ought to thank her later for covering up for you.

Jane looks furious. She steps closer to you, a scowl on her face, ready to pounce on you, but before she spits the first word, a sound could be heard.

The Cullens are here, accompanied by one huge russet wolf. They all stand tensed, ready to pounce in case the whole "negotiation" process goes south. Even not so little Renesmee is frowning, one of her hands caressing the wolf. It is not until you look closely that you notice the impact her simple touch has on the wolf's expression. Something about the whole scene makes you feel tense and edgy. This makes no sense to you at all. Twenty minutes were enough to break the ice inside of you. Leah was standing between the wolf and Jasper. You force your eyes away from her.

"Demitri," approached the elder Cullen.

"Glad you and your coven decided to finally join us, Carlisle"

"Only respecting Leah's wishes, Demitri. What shall I say? The power of free will was always our coven's greatest virtue." answered Carlisle picking up on the sarcasm dripping from your voice.

You falter for a nanosecond. He knows, you are sure of it. It is obvious on your face, you assume. You thank any superior power that might be up there that the rest of the Volturi guards are standing behind you and couldn't pick up the wavering in your composure.

You stood there speechless, your gaze dancing from a face to another. Some looked angry, others looked calm. Leah mostly looked both distorted and enraged.

"Aro wants to meet Leah. He has reasons to believe she has the potential to be an efficient Volturi guard. So we have a proposal for her and for you, my dear Cullens, to hear"

This is it.

The plan is in motion. There is no backing down anymore.

You make up your mind. You start projecting all the emotions you were feeling ten minutes ago, everything you locked away in a corner of your brain comes vulnerably scattered as memories and sensations on the surface of your brain. You stood perfectly still as the barriers you built around your emotions for the concerned person to be able to see the honesty in them.

I would never dream of hurting her.

Shamefully, you cannot even bring yourself to meet Edward's eye as your secret is finally out to him. Nothing is stopping him from exposing you for the imposturous Volturi guard that you became the second you set your eyes on Leah, but still he is doing it. For a split second, the thought that the Cullens are not actually a bad company to Leah crosses your mind. Instinctually, you look up at Edward, seeing a ghostly smile hunting his lips. Your eyes drift to Leah to see her reaction to the words you just spoke.

Whatever happens tonight, Leah just simply cannot die.

The Cullens wait patiently for you to elaborate.

"I believe your friends Leah has been around enough to know how the Volturi functions, how second chances are by no means given. However, we are willing to wait exactly one week for your answer if you are willing to obey some rules."

"What kind of rules exactly?"

"You will stay unshielded the entirety of the time."

You smile despite yourself, imagining already how it would feel to be able to perceive Leah's whereabouts.

"Absolutely not!"

You are taken aback by that unfamiliar voice. You turn to face the speaker. It was ever-so-innocent Renesmee. In a blink of an eye, the russet wolf bounced in front of her growling and ready to fight off anyone that might look like capable of hurting the girl. The scene is inexplicably uncomfortable and dangerously offensive for you. You give Edward a reproachable before as calmly as you can, answer.

"I believe this is not your call to make, dear Renesmee. Only Leah is concerned. You are just in attendance here as witnesses."

Leah's eyes flicker to someone behind you. Jane. That gives you the excuse you need to turn around to study the guards' expressions. Jane looked devilishly delighted with your proposition. Proud almost. You give her a warning glare before turning around to face Leah.

"No Volturi Guard will intentionally or is obliged to hurt you as long as you are considering Aro's offer. In the meantime, I am pretty sure Jane will learn to behave herself. You need to start trusting us, Leah." You struggle to keep out the deeper emotion in your voice. But it tries so hard to subconsciously portray to the now pinnacle of your otherwise monotonous existence the double meaning. If she only knew the effect that one look had on your body that you had long believed was forever cold and dead.

That statement about trust earns you a dark laugh. But you are not about to back down.

"No one will interfere in your decision-making. What do you say, Leah?"

Timing is everything. Those few nanoseconds pass extremely slowly. Everyone suddenly gets tenser, as if that was even possible.

"Yes, I will think about it"

That was the first real answer you have managed to extract out of her since the beginning of the confrontation. Her voice is strangely beautiful and her answer is promising.

Disaster averted, for now.

"Behold the beast because of which I turned; help me against her, famous sage, for she makes my veins and pulse tremble" (Dante, The Divine Comedy)

(felt like this quote is better left to the end, makes more sense this way :)

*About the poem i quoted mid-story, it is called The Tyger by William Blake (Songs Of Experience, 1794).

So Demitri can be compared to Blake's Tyger while Leah can be considered Dante's Beast.

okay, so i am not sure whether to continue with this approach of the story or not. Help!(through PMs or reviews :)

A bientot!

Gia :)