Hello!

I am sorry for the long wait, but i can assure you I haven't had a moment of serenity this whole summer :/

So i am going to duck my head in shame and let you read this chapter.

Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer is like a librarian. Every character is characterized by a book in her archive. We are just students who use these characters as study cases, analyzing and exploring them in our ungraded essays :)

Demitri's point of view:

Alex and Jane are in Seattle.

I miraculously managed to get them out of Forks in the span of a few hours after the confrontation. "Hunting around the area will definitely not help the negotiations, Jane" I have said as calmly as I could manage. It is in everyone's sake, but mostly mine to just keep them as much in the dark as possible, long enough for me to sort my issues out.

In fact, it is Alec who worries me more than Jane; having worked for centuries on their sides has really made me recognize their offensive strategies: Jane is so over-confident that she is never reluctant to speak her mind, which is most of the time. She good-naturally relies on her gift more than necessary. On the other hand, Alec is the best strategist within the Volturi guards. The issue is that he is reserved. Decoding his thoughts is quite challenging and extremely tough. Plus, the worst Jane can do is hurt me for a couple of minutes, while Alec can end my life without me being aware of it. And I haven't caught anything that might help me identify what he might be thinking of this whole situation.

Paranoia is starting to drown me to a point where I cannot help but check and double-check their position on my virtual map every 2 minutes. They are now in north of Seattle, 8th Avenue, Spring Street, exactly 85km away. It would take them 1hours, 15 minutes at full speed to get here. And Santiago and Felix are further exploring the deserted mountains of Vancouver. So it is safe to assume that I got enough time to have a fine head start in escaping the claws of the Volturi.

Yeah right, Like I would even contemplate gravely this option.

I sigh, an absurd mixture of relief and desperation wrapping me in their shell. Relief is a non-existent word in the Volturi's dictionary; you are too dedicated that there is no place for relief, because no mistakes are allowed. Getting away with a crime is a laughable absurd thought. Desperation is a new emotion that I am exploring. It is an uncomfortable feeling, makes you feel dependant and weak. I have always been dependant and weak, of Masters but I have never minded much. This sort of desperation that I am feeling right now is different; it is the repulsive kind, the kind that once it hunts you, it never leaves you until your heart obtains its desires.

I know better than to accuse Leah of triggering those foreign feelings inside of me even though she occupies most of my thoughts now. But it feels like something inside of me has melted the second I set eyes on her, molding me into a different person, a better person maybe, a fine change from this emotionless dedicated guard I was.

"Is that why you do not want to feed?" comes out a voice in the darkness. Chills run through my body as I hear Chelsea's voice replying my thoughts. Hearing Jane's voice would have been more merciful at this point. Chelsea has always been known for being Aro's greatest exploitation. She was the first game-changer that hooked and sued the Volturi together, denying each of us his own individual freedom for the sake of the whole entity. The most dangerous trait of her gift appears when she is easily able to perceive any kind of betrayal, or imposturous thoughts within this whole. She possesses is the capability to read my thoughts too easily when I have not even voiced them, let alone admitted them to myself. She must have felt the faint wavering concerning my bonds associating me to the Volturi and thus interpreted this observation the only way she could.

"You care for the girl. More than you should. One glimpse at her and suddenly her judgments and opinions matters." She exclaims, rather disgusted "you do not wish her to label as a human bloodsucker. You will hate this loathing look in her eyes once she discerns your blood stained eyes, this horrified expression reflecting in her face when her mind drifts to the person you just killed to feed your own pleasures."

I desperately want her to stop. Her words are like screams of the mermaids in the odysseys. Except I am no Homer. I am no Greek hero that could easily face my fate with my hands tied back on the matt of a sailing boat. Unlike Jane's torturous gift and the temptation behind the mermaids' words, Chelsea's words are not based on an illusion. There is absolutely no thought that I could cling to that promises me everything, the guilt, the growing attachment, the sinful attraction will stop anytime soon. And I hate Chelsea for pointing it out to me. I hate her for not being able to fix my bonds, my priorities. I hate her. No no, I loathe her for using her newly found weakness to crush me with mere abstract sounds translated into vicious words.

A new quake, composed mainly of questions, self doubt and hopelessness begins destroying everything the Volturi has build within me. My mind is a mess of plywood panels, stones and mortar. The qualities and the values that defined me, repressed into a four walls starts exploding, crumbling shamelessly to the ground. The roof trusses constructed by the Volturi are shattered, wooden rafters chaotically scattered here and there. The mortar, personifying Chelsea's gift, keeping the whole building standing is suddenly not good enough to shield this entity from the magnitude of the quake. Chelsea's gift is betraying me when I needed it the most. She kept me together for as long as I can remember. But right now, it feels as if she is playing with the ruins inside of me to defeat me, to make me surrender to this undeniable fate forced upon me.

"What now, Demitri? I know you are not short-sighted person so what is your plan concerning the girl? Are you considering telling…?'

"No!" I protested. I didn't even mean to open my mouth, let alone voice my emotions concerning the girl.

As soon as the words left Chelsea's mouth, the damage is done. Preserved Data could be irrepressible this way. My thoughts were scattered here and there in my damaged head, but as soon as Chelsea opened her mouth, those forbidden thoughts unconsciously aligned, organized themselves into a potential answer. Aro would know simply everything now. The proof is there. All trapped in my memories for eternity.

Telling Leah the whole thing, like Chelsea were about to suggest is out of question. Tangling her in my problems is the last thing she needs. Aro wants her because she was the weakest link in the sequence. Using my so-called attraction to her to get her to join seems contemptuous and cynical enough. Plus judging by Leah's character, she is not one to be fooled by vile things such as emotions. A little unwanted cricket is shamelessly whispering in my ear, enlightening me on how I am not good enough and how I will not be able to handle the rejection, a thought that frightens me even more than Aro's cold wrath.

The amalgamation of Leah and Aro in the same thought gives me the chills. It automatically makes me locate her in your mind. She is with her brothers on the river that separates the wolves' territory from the rest of the reservation.

I heave a sigh of desperation.

Chelsea interpreted your unwillingness to speak as her cue to continue.

"What? Do you want me to kill her? Will that solve your problem? If it makes things easier for you to handle, she does not feel the same, and probably never will. You are a worthless leech to her after all".

I stiffen for a second. Then before I could even process what I am doing. I found myself being tackled to the ground, face down in the dirty muddy ground. Chelsea's high heel on my back is keeping me pinned and unable to move. The pressure she is exercising would have been enough to crush a human's vertebrae axis.

What happened? I close my eyes, trying to understand what got me in this position, my advanced mind not seeming able to cope with the fast continuous déjà vu twirling in my mind. It took me a few seconds to process everything: at the mentioning of Leah's possible death, I blacked out with rage, and attacked Chelsea. I actually attacked a highly-ranked guard; someone who, I would under normal circumstances know could easily eliminate me.

She laughs triumphantly, her voice ringing through the night, shaking her head at my foolish show of aggression.

"Demitri, Demitri, Demitri…'

I stay silent and motionless, accepting my defeat hoping I haven't just lost the tiny glimmer of hope I had to just leave Leah out of it. I was wrong about Chelsea. I realized this a little too late. Chelsea might not be my ally after all.

Aro never touches Chelsea's hand. She is already too independent for his liking, too important to even suggest any type of compromise. Alec and Jane always fight for Aro's attention while Chelsea sure acts like a settler. She keeps all the sheep from losing their direction. Although who keeps Chelsea –who technically worked as the Volturi's shepherd– from resigning is a great mystery.

She has all the weapons she needs to bring me down. Slaughtering me herself, at this moment would be excused by masters. The reason is accurate and strong enough. Her high rank would protect her from any reproaches and criticism. Just because she stayed quiet during the confrontation with the Cullens does not mean I should have taken her for granted, not even for a second. She just didn't want to cause a scene in front of the Cullens; killing an ally under the judging public eye would not make a positive feedback for the Volturi after all. I am very threatened by Chelsea right now and I should have done a better job than miscalculate her motives.

"Whatever you are hiding, you are going to tell me" She is not even asking.

"This is none of your business, Chelsea, so you better stay out of it." I manage to say in my normal voice, calmly. I nodded confidently. She arches an eyebrow at my answer before sighing herself. In a blur, she releases me from her grip and leans against a nearby tree.

Your priorities are shaken, I say they need to be forcefully reorganized," I feel that unusual ticklish sensation of something messing with my synapses. She continues "your loyalties to me are heightened. All paths of evasion blocked. What are you going to do now?" even if I know the mechanics and the extensions of Chelsea's gift, it is just impossible to fight it, unless you're a natural like Miss Cullen.

"I don't know Chelsea; it is not something I voluntarily sought"

Chelsea's blank expression stays blank expecting me to continue. I helplessly laugh about it and angrily admit to everything.

"I'm telling you this, Chelsea. I don't care if he considers you as my accomplice or conspirator. I don't know the Hows and the Whys, it just happened."

She sighs dramatically "Ah! The joy of love at first sight" she exclaimed in a mocking voice before an unidentified fiery emotion crosses Chelsea's eyes; it was gone before I could interpret it. "I think it is something bigger than you and bigger than her. Whatever it is, you need to tell her, or at least ask her about it"

I think about it for a while, weighting my options. Leah's safety outweighs everything else.

"No" I shake my head before giving Chelsea a stern nod.

She smirks at me "from all the guards, you are the last one I thought would have the courage to defy Aro's rules. I got to say, you were the easiest to tame right after Jane. Like a little puppy"

I stayed quiet. "I had nowhere else to go, Chelsea"

It wasn't until I saw Chelsea's smirk widen that I noticed my slip, "Had" being the operative word in my statement, a testament to the accuracy of Chelsea's words. I was petrified. My lapse was more relevant than needed to be.

Chelsea quieted down for a while sighing, holding my gaze, some strange understanding spark in her eyes. "You need to talk to her. The bond that connects you is the strongest I have ever seen since the werewolves' era. I heard some stories but their accuracy and application to the shape shifters is questionable. So trust me, hiding the truth from her could be classified as the most selfish decision you could even make."

I eye her suspiciously for a while. She nods, holding my gaze the whole time, the honestly in her eyes emphasizing her words. She knows what she is talking about. Afton and she have joined the Volturi together. And everyone knows Aro is keeping Afton just so Chelsea wouldn't rethink her priorities. I smile; Chelsea is an ally after all. She just has a twisted way of showing it.

I ponder over the whole conversation before asking her "what do you think has triggered the whole thing?" She obviously knows something she is not telling me.

Chelsea looks at me before carefully answering "Aro has mentioned their fascinating way of functioning, but he never went into the details. That should be your starting point. Besides, you need to talk to her, for your sanity's sake."

I stay quiet for a while before my phone rings suddenly.

It is a laughable thought, how a simple sound resonating in the night, echoing in the forest can be the source of such a pure terror. Only one person could be calling me right now and this person is always up to no good.

"Speaking of the devil..." Chelsea exclaimed, smugly but concerned.

The interval between two rings is exactly 5.3 seconds. I have 3 seconds to pull myself together before answering the phone. A phone call that might decide my fate.

I take an unnecessary breath, suddenly very nervous under Chelsea's scrutinizing gaze. She knows what is coming my way. I need to answer immediately not to raise any suspicions. Aro being Aro, he would be easily detecting lies.

"Hello" I answer curtly, picking all the confidence that shattered and scattered on the ground when I realized the identity of the caller.

"Demitri!" comes the surprised yet enthusiastic voice of Aro.

"Master" politely, firmly and straight to the point.

"I heard from dear Jane that you are handling the mission now"

"You heard correctly, master" I affirmed.

"And how is my little gift doing?"

That's where I find myself trapped, my previous confidence crumbling, and the cracks in my composure starting to turn into fissures as the silence dragged on. Puns are always a part of Aro's games. His speeches never lack them since he uses them as weapons to shred his opponents' open. That is when I sense a boost in my loyalty to Aro; Chelsea sensing the wavering in my composure must have used her powers to keep me on track by strengthening my bond to the Volturi. She could not do much concerning the situation regarding Leah but she surely could help with Aro.

I smile gratefully at her before lightly answering Aro "She is fine, at home, carefully weighting her only option"

An uncomfortable silence falls upon us before Aro's cheerful tone came bursting from the receiver "I knew I sent the right person to equilibrate Jane's gift. Do not let me down, Demitri" Aro's classical way of pressuring you.

"Yes, Master"

Aro hangs up. It was not a surprise when I realize dust has replaced the phone in my hand.

I have incised the only way of communication with the Volturi, and I do not regret it, not even for a second.

Well the story is stuck in my mind for ages now, and I am sort of worried it kind of lost its fresh aspect, so your suggestions are always welcome.

~Gia