Chapter Fourteen: Protect Me From What I Want
Fantasy Writer: Okay, as an answer to your questions. One, I have seen and read The Host, it is one of my favorite books! The movie was fine, I saw it with my best friend, I'm just not a huge fan of Saoirse Ronan. Carlisle's head made my heart stop. I saw the movie at the premiere with my friend and her sister and the whole room went like: O.O, one guy dropped the f-word. Everyone cheered when Jane and Aro died, much to my disappointment. I'm not intending for this story to be a crossover, but I like all of your ideas. Your Fanfiction has real potential and I hope everything is going well.
Guest1: Glad you love it!
Guest2: Wait and see...^.^
R.A.B. : Thank you for your support, dear Regulus Black!
Lilly Moonlight: You know how I like my cliffhangers! Yeah, I really put some new developments into this chapter. Yes this is when Edward cut off ties with Bella, it is central to the story's plot for later on.
YourEnchantingDesire: Can't make any promises, but I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Ballet is a dance executed by the human soul - Alexander Pushkin.
As the sun began to ascend into her room and blare right in her face, Helen groaned and turned her half-asleep self away from the window. Drool rolled down from her mouth and her hair had begun to resemble a rat's nest. Any trace of the pretty girl from the party had vanished in the blink of an eye. Internally, she rolled her eyes at the sound of heels clanking towards her bedroom door.
'Go away and let me sleep!' Helen shouted to herself.
"Signorina?" Lucita knocked several times on the door, "are you still asleep? Maestro Aro and Maestra Sulpicia want you to get up and make yourself up for the day."
"Helen is not here." She replied groggily, "Come back at a decent hour!"
"It is nearly eleven, Signorina." Lucita sighed, "that is more than decent."
"Maybe, but it's four in the morning in St. Louis, that is not decent." Helen snapped back and shoved her face into the pillow, "I'm sleeping!" Lucita walked away from the door and Helen exhaled in relaxation. However, seconds later, someone returned to knock on the door.
"Helen, darling!" Oh, god, it was Aro. She didn't have the patience for him right now. His chipper and feathery tone clashed with her low blood sugar induced anger. "It is time to grace the world with your presence, will you open the door for me?"
"No."
"And why not?" He teased.
"It would require me to get out of bed." Helen snorted. Aro sighed and she knew at that minute he was up to no good. He left the room for several minutes and that made Helen worry about what he was going to pull next. She simply shrugged it off, and didn't notice her door click open or the silent patter of fine leather shoes against the floor. Seconds later, ice cold water poured down onto her and made her shriek and jump from her bed. Aro stood next to her, smug, holding a bucket.
"What the hell was that for?!" Helen shouted as she shivered.
"I needed you to wake up, sweetheart." Aro chuckled, "now please dress and clean yourself. You are not going to sleep until noon and do nothing for the whole day, going to bed at an unreasonable hour. It is incoherently sloth."
"So you decided to give me pneumonia?" Helen replied spitefully.
"All the more reason for you to take a nice, hot bath." Aro giggled playfully and patted Helen's freezing head. "You better not try and stay in bed, or it will be boiling water." With that, he cheerfully walked out the door, pleased with himself.
'Manipulative bastard!'
Helen took a hot soak and after she finished drying off, she laid out several sweaters and pants, but couldn't decide what it was she wanted to wear. There was a soft and comfortable looking cashmere, vermillion sweater, which she wanted to pair with black pants and boots. On the other hand, there was a dark blue, form-fitting tunic to match black tights and the same black boots.
"Honey." Sulpicia gently knocked on the door, "please tell me you are not still in bed."
"No, I just can't decide what to wear." Helen replied bluntly. The door clicked open and the woman of the household entered, fitted with a plum colored dress that reflected her curves, her hair was styled in a bouffant bun.
"Do you want some help?" She asked maternally, "after that, I could do your hair again."
"Um, okay." Helen replied, this was new for her. Normally, Kathleen criticized her outfits, rather than help her pick out clothes to wear. "What do you think of this," she held up the sweater and pants, "with these?"
"Hmm," Sulpicia pursued her lips together. "Not bad, but you wear so many sweaters, how about we pick something new?" The motherly vampire streaked through the air and into Helen's closet, she returned with a dark green dress and a pair of black Mary Jane pumps. "Match these with those tights, don't pull the dress all the way down and pinch it up."
"Thanks." Helen beamed, apparently there were some perks to having Sulpicia as a...mother.
"Good, go get dressed and then I will do your hair. Afterwards, we will see my studio and the gardens." Sulpicia smiled and caressed Helen's cheek before leaving the room. Helen, meanwhile, did as she was told and dressed herself for today. Not knowing what would be in store.
"You have such beautiful hair." Sulpicia sighed as she continued to braid, "I am glad it is not short, it's so pretty at this length."
"I have to keep it long, ballet buns are hard to do with short hair." Helen replied, eager to see what was being done with her ginger curls. The truth was, for the first few minutes, Sulpicia seemed to be playing with her hair, longing to display physical affection for Helen. It was nice, but it so different than anything she had experienced. Even as a toddler, Helen remembered vaguely, Kathleen only showed minimal affection. There were no Monday morning chocolate chip cookies or warm hugs when she had nightmares. Kathleen once shoved a three year old Helen in a closet and told her to be quiet while she talked on the phone, all because she wanted to give her the picture she drew. It was two hours of crying out for mommy and pounding on the door, before Wesley came home from kindergarten and let her out.
"It's one of your best features, please don't dye it." Sulpicia beamed.
"I know, when I was thirteen I tried on a blonde wig and looked like a fake-haired stripper." Helen shrugged, when Sulpicia finished the braid, her hair resembled Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen.
"Thanks." Helen reached out for her brown eye-liner, but before she applied some, Sulpicia yanked it from her hand. "Do black, not brown, I think you will be more pleased. Unfortunately, the black eye-liner was liquid, Helen had only ever used pencil. "Here," Sulpicia sensed her discomfort and took the liner. "Close your eyes." Helen did as she was told and sat patiently as Sulpicia applied her eye make-up.
'This is the kind of thing mothers are supposed to do.' Helen told herself, in the past few days, Sulpicia of the Volturi had been more of a mother to her, than Kathleen had been in fifteen years. This was one of the perks of being here, she just hadn't realized it until now.
"All done!" The ethereal woman beamed. Helen gasped at the image of the well made up girl in the mirror. Never had she been able to apply her cosmetics this perfectly, but then again, Sulpicia had eons of time to practice.
"Thanks." Helen smiled.
"Now come, we have much to see."
Sulpicia's studio had been located in one of the tallest towers in the estate. After many cobbled steps and stained glass windows, an all white room with a wooden floor. Many canvases and easels adorned the room and several ornate and wonderfully done paintings were scattered about the walls and leaned adjacent to the ground.
"Wow." Helen said in amazement.
"These do not even hold a candle to my other works, especially the ones about you." Sulpicia sighed.
"How have you painted me, we just met?" Helen wondered in confusion.
"I know, but I have known about you for so long, and I have seen pictures of you." She replied, not caring how Helen interpreted that sentence. Sulpicia strutted over to a nearby store room and began rummaging for artwork.
"When and how? I've never taken a picture with Aro," Helen asked nervously.
"Oh, well, he and the other guard members had been following you weeks before you met. I assumed he told you." Sulpicia replied nonchalantly, "it doesn't really matter, he meant no harm."
'Um, I'm pretty sure it matters.' Helen assured herself. "Did you always know what I looked like?"
"No." Sulpicia picked up an old looking piece of paper, "and never in all my centuries would I assume to overnight become the mother of a teenager. Here, this was the first thing I ever sketched when I found out your name." Sketched onto the old paper, clearly several centuries old, was the picture of a baby in swaddled clothing, held in a mother's tender arms. At the bottom right hand corner of page were three beautifully written words: ελένη Χέντριτς.
"What does that mean?" Helen pointed to the phrase. Sulpicia smiled, "that is your name translated to Greek. Well, your first and last name, there is no specific term for Louise. Aro requested I write that."
"Oh," Helen said happily. She still couldn't believe that Sulpicia had crafted this, "but, this looks so old. How long have you known about me?"
"Nearly two thousand years." Sulpicia sighed. Helen felt her eyes widen in shock; that wasn't even possible! Helen wasn't even an idea until March of 1996 when Kathleen discovered she was pregnant! How could they have known about her for so long? "I know that must be difficult for you to understand."
"Uh, yeah." Helen assured with an eye roll.
"To understand that story, I think first I shall share mine. Trust me when I say that it is no happy ending, then again, anyone who survives the change never had the best human life, especially immortals as old as us." Sulpicia motioned to the door, "we must walk as we talk. I must show you something."
"I was born two Roman parents on the eve of August fifth, sixty years into the common era. My father, as I said, was a painter and my mother had died giving birth to me. I am thirteen hundred years younger than Aro." Sulpicia said simply, as if the age difference meant nothing. She continued as they walked down the stairs, "For four years, my father made a name for himself and provided food for our family. Then, the Great Fire of Rome destroyed the only family I had left. I was sent to live with my horrible Aunt Ephyra and her repulsive husband and lazy son. After years of independence and taking care of the three most odious people alive, Ephyra began arranging marriages for me, claiming I was turning into an old maid."
"How old were you?" Helen wondered.
"Twenty-two. In those days, I was middle-aged. No proper man would have me," Sulpicia lead Helen out the door. "They all feared I was too old for children. I tried to persuade them, for even as a young girl I imagined having a child of my own, especially a daughter." Helen saw the vampire queen beam at her. "Alas, I was all but condemned, until he came along." Sulpicia made a hissing sound at the mention of his name. "Inachus, well over fifty, an impressive age for his time. He wanted a woman with spirit, and found entertainment in myself. Ephyra arranged our union, glad to be rid of me. Inachus was well-endowed with wealth and riches and bought me from my family, it seemed fitting, as I would never go with him out of my own will. For the next eight years, I was beaten and abused, sometimes he would act kind and try to persuade favors from me, but he never loved me."
Helen was trying to process everything she was telling her. The way that Sulpicia and Aro had lived in the past, it made her shocked that they had survived all that. "Would you like me to continue, this is not even the worst?" The blonde beauty asked.
"Yeah, I'll bear with it."
"Very well," Sulpicia and Helen had strolled down several hallways by now. "Inachus had one benefit, he would drag me to glorious affairs with the upper crust. Surrounded by wealth and riches, I found solace with no one, and then, during one of his travels in search of a permanent land, I had found my happiness.'
"Aro." Helen assumed.
"Precisely. He looked like a God to someone like me, and at the time, he could as easily have been one. There was something about him that drew him to me, made me feel a connection. Aro did not deny it either, and frequently immersed himself in my affairs. We had several, wonderful interludes. Every single one of them made Inachus grow manic with rage. The beatings would become more severe, he reminded me that I was his property and would do well not to make a fool out of him." Sulpicia laughed humorlessly, "I didn't care. He was dirt to me, but I still knew that I needed to honor him as a wife should, despite my feelings. Aro wanted me to run away with him to a better life, but I was young and unafraid, not to mention that my mother never would have been ungrateful. Despite his pleas and confessions of love, I refused him."
Sulpicia lured Helen outside the castle, towards the gardens. With the impending threat of winter, many of the flowers had begun to wither and day. However, the trees were golden and their trunks reflected several centuries of being rooted in this soil. The autumn flowers were in full bloom and the air was crisp with the surprising smell of apples. As far as she knew, apples were not commonly grown in Tuscany, but then again, that didn't mean they couldn't.
"Aro did not take to rejection well, as you know." Sulpicia continued after watching Helen look around. "He insisted I go with him, that I leave Inachus forever. I still refused and that infuriated him."
"Try telling him to screw himself while in a car." Helen snorted, earning a surprising smile from Sulpicia. "Nevertheless, he let me go back to Inachus, but swore that he would return for me. However, nothing prepared me for what occurred next, a baby was growing inside me. I could not contain my happiness, I had the thing I had wanted most, Inachus had finally given me something I could truly care for. I loved that child, it did not matter to myself where she had come from."
"She?" Helen wondered out loud. Apparently, Sulpicia had more than just Helen, but then where would this child be? "Let me finish, first. It was the greatest feeling I ever had, but Inachus came to me and confessed his disdain for children. He revealed he had only married me because he assumed I was too old for childbirth, that he would have picked a younger bride if he desired a baby. I tried to persuade him, explained that he was in need of an heir for when he passed on. Inachus beat me for hours and told me that I should be hopeful for myself and the child that I miscarry.
"I was at a loss. I realized that Aro would have welcomed this child, as he explained a fondness for children, particularly his sister. I knew that I needed to keep my child safe, so I wrote to him and explained my situation, apologizing for my foolishness and doubt. Of course he was pleased that I was his and wanted to be with him. But, I think I reminded him of his mother, and he would do everything in his power to save me from that fate. He assured me that he would allow me to have my baby and would raise the child, no matter the gender, as his own.
"We created a plan to run away before I birthed the infant, and told me to meet him on the outskirts of town." Sulpicia paused as she had led Helen to a secret gated area with more flowers than she had ever seen. "I was not careful and forgot to destroy the evidence of my betrayal. Inachus sent for the horses and caught up with me just before I reached town's edge. Only Aro could watch me be dragged into a cart and taken to my demise, he returned to his house to rally his coven, not realizing what would occur. My soon to be late husband had beat me like never before. I shielded my womb the best that I could, I tried to protect her, and his assault induced my labor. He left me be as I birthed my first darling daughter, she was so tiny." Sulpicia tried to explain by using a cradling motion. "It was love at first sight for us and I was so caught up in my happiness, that I didn't realize that Inachus entered my room with a blade."
Helen felt her heart skip a beat. Unbelievable! This child-hating old fart had been high on the list of assholes, but now he was going to kill Sulpicia's newborn baby?! "Her name was Cass, after my childhood friend from many years ago. She had red hair, from my mother's side, "Sulpicia rain her fingers through a loose strand of Helen's hair. "Inachus destroyed the only life he had brought into this world, and I was restrained as I watched. Then, in my last moments I crawled next to her, she may as well have been sleeping. I kissed her forehead and Inachus brought down the knife, realizing I would still leave him after Cass had passed on." Sulpicia cleared her throat and narrowed her eyes at her memories. "I awoke from the change in this very castle. Of course, the estate was not nearly finished yet. Aro explained to me that he was a vampire, he loved me, and that I was of his kind now."
"What happened to Inachus? Did Aro kill him?" Helen wondered, and Sulpicia gave a satisfied grin. "He was my first meal, and I made sure he suffered as long as he could for hurting my darling Cass." Sulpicia opened the gate and lead Helen into the meadow of blues and purples and pinks and greens. "This is all that remains of her." Helen looked down and saw a small, white marble tombstone with the words: Bambini salire agli angeli, la mia piccola Cass.
"What does that mean?" Helen asked nervously, very uneasy about being in this place.
"Cass became an angel, at least, I think she did." Sulpicia said mournfully.
"Why did you bring me here?" Helen said with a shaky voice. All of Sulpicia's care became clear like a slap to the face, she was just trying to replace her as a daughter. Her real daughter had been buried in the ground and decorated with flowers. The question was: then why would Aro want her?
"I wanted you to see this." Sulpicia shrugged, confused by her nerves. "I thought it was something you would want to know." Helen could feel her heart rate spike, this was definitely something she didn't need to see. Sure, she felt bad about what happened to Sulpicia, but she could have omitted the seeing of the grave. This was a sacred and special place for Sulpicia, not for the two of them.
"I have to go." Helen shook as she began marching away from the resting place. Sulpicia called after her, but she could do nothing except leave. Some things were apparently better off not knowing.
Helen strutted back into the castle, it was the end of feeding time, so many vampires were walking this way from the throne room. She needed to figure out how to deal with what just happened. Alec was leaving with Jane and Demetri to take care of a human massacre in Uzbekistan, Felix was probably just going to flirt with her, Renata was with Heidi, and they hung out with Miranda, which spell disaster. It seemed as though the only person she could really talk to was Aro. But, he was so-so when it came to Helen's situation. Not to mention that after the fight they had last night, he wasn't exactly empathetic.
Sadly, the only other people who knew Sulpicia as long as he did were Caius, Marcus, and Athenodora. The first one would just chastise her, the second one didn't talk to her, and the third one would either be like the first or second. Helen noticed the dead and bloody human corpses being shoved into the open drain by Felix and another male guard named Santiago. Helen controlled her nausea as she walked towards the thrones. Only Caius and Marcus were present, the former was smirking.
"You've got some guts coming here by yourself, girl." Caius said with a nasty smile.
"Where's Aro?" Helen rolled her eyes.
"Tut-tut, someone is most definitely a blunt little beast." He insulted happily, "a few good lashes should correct that. If only your father understood how good of a beating you need, stupid girl."
"Where is Aro?" Helen asked again.
"If you really want to know the answer, girl, all you have to do is ask nicely." Seriously? He was just going to make her beg for it, wasn't he? "Fine, will you tell me where Aro is, please?"
"No."
"Jackass." Helen replied sharply.
"Don't be rude, you little fool." Caius said in a very cruel voice, "I am simply spending some quality Uncle time."
"Look, I don't care how much hate spurs under those foofy hairs of yours." Helen snorted, "but the sooner I know where Aro is, the sooner I can get out of your face. Something both us want, a better view to look at."
Marcus gave a feeble smile, "he is in his study, young one. I implore you to make haste, before Caius loses his patience. It is the last room of the highest floor of the west wing."
"Thank you." Helen assured as she trotted behind the thrones and towards the west wing, as soon as she was out the door, she heard Caius' hurtful words. "Why does Aro punish all of us by keeping that miserable child here?"
'Because he is only interested in keeping himself happy.' Helen answered mentally.
Helen was eternally grateful that the shoes she wore were very comfortable, because it seemed as though she was having to hike three miles just to get there. She had already stopped about four times to catch her breath.
'Why didn't I take Allie up on her offer to do cardio, back when we were still friends?' Helen huffed as her upper abdomen began to cramp. Aro really should think about installing an elevator or something! Then again, immortals can run about one mile in two minutes, she would be correct to believe that the Volturi never had human guests, unless they were the main dish.
After several hallways and many, many flights of stairs, the last room of the highest floor in the west wing stood before her. Unlike the many other rooms, the door was largely ornate and intimidating. Helen reached for the doorknob, but remembered something Renata had told her. No one was allowed in any of the Masters' studies, unless granted permission. To Helen, it seemed very strange, but this wasn't about what she considered to be normal. No, this was about condolence. Mustering up all of her courage, she knocked three times on the door. Her face began to lose color and she shook as she waited there in silence. How on earth would she start this conversation?
"Enter." Aro said dryly from behind the door. Helen gulped and slowly creaked open the door. The study had clearly been designed several centuries ago, several old dark bookcases and expensive paintings adorned the bronze wallpaper. Two brown leather chairs faced the marvelously carved oak desk, sitting at the desk reading a thousand year old book, was Aro in one of his universally magnificent suits.
"Helen." Aro said cheerfully as he looked up from his book, "you came all this way just to see me? The walk must have been dreadful for you, darling."
"Okay, I need to tell you something, I don't know how to say it, so I'll just blurt it out." Helen said plainly, trying to mask her nerves.
"Oh," Aro said with a raised eyebrow, "and what exactly is that, my dear?"
"Sulpicia showed me the sketch, the one that she made two thousand years ago." Helen explained, "how is that even possible? I wasn't even a plausible idea until the strip turned pink. I want to know how you knew about me, and how you managed to find me and follow me."
Aro stared at Helen and sighed in reluctance, but nodded, granting her request. "Very well, have a seat, my love." Helen nodded and smoothed out her dress as she sat in the comfortable leather. Aro reached into his desk for a file cabinet and pulled out a bulky looking file with both old and new documents, "that will answer two of your questions, once you've found what you're looking for, I'll enlighten you about your...past." He gave an unholy smile as he handed her the file. Helen uncomfortably took it and opened up the documents. Helen's eyes widened open when she saw the first few pages. Pictures of various videos that Helen and her friends had posted on YouTube.
"You really should be more careful about what you post online, honey, because it never disappears and anyone can see it." Aro said with a satisfied grin. "Felix became fascinated with those videos, especially the ones where you all used first and last names. It did not take long for me to discover where you lived and where you went to school. Once I discovered the Patron program at the Academy, I knew it would be easy for me to earn your trust and convince you to come with me. Among other plans."
"How long?" Helen replied in a frustrated voice.
"Five months." Aro said nonchalantly, "It was easy once the guard discovered you on social media. One of my more technological companions tracked your address through your email. It took me two weeks to activate one of my many vacation homes and formulate a plan."
"So, you basically stalked me?" Helen said bitterly, "why didn't you just grab me when you saw me?"
"And ruin any form of bond we could've formed?" He asked rhetorically. "I am smart man, my darling, that would not be a wise decision."
"You saw what was wrong with my life and used it to your advantage." She narrowed her eyes, "the question is: why? Why did you do all of this?" Aro sighed as he usually did and walked over to one of his many bookcases, pulling out an old tome. "As you may recall on the night that your precious little family and friends should have died." He spat on the word precious, "Ruby White and I made a deal to spare them, mentioning an old friend of mine, do you remember?"
"Yeah, that Lucius guy."
"Well, that Lucius guy, played a great part in our story. He is a Warlock, precisely fifty years older than myself. Around two thousand years ago, your mother and I were finally together, mates at last. I'm sure she shared her story with you, am I correct?"
"Yeah." Helen nodded.
"Very good." He said happily, "then as you know, her poor little baby was murdered by the disgusting excuse for a husband. Sulpicia was devasted, had I not have been there for her, her grief would have consumed her entire being. I was patient and I was kind and comforting, as I was with you. After some time, she recovered and we were all very happy, and then she wanted something that I could not be capable of giving her, nor could she give herself."
"Another baby." Helen summarized.
"My baby to be exact. That was when we learned from Athenodora that vampires could not conceive, as we are frozen from the change. Her womb would never quicken with life, because in a way, she was dead. That, also nearly destroyed her again. I was at a loss, I had never dealt with this, but my sister had. Didyme was barren, even as a human, and had come to terms with it long before her change. She talked with Sulpicia and comforted her in ways I could not, but she was set on having a child, one way or another. However, I did not want any child, I wanted our child. After many years, I found that possibility."
"How could you have a child that was yours, but wasn't yours?" Helen said in confusion.
"Not by blood, but by bonds. One that would always be ours, that was destined to always be in our lives." Aro explained softly, "that was where Lucius came in, my pet. He possesed a mystical item known as the Oracles, jewels that allowed him to predict aspects of people as well as destiny."
"He could see the future?"
"No, sweetheart, he could only prophecize, he could not see the events, nor their outcome. Had he been able to perform the latter, I would have recruited him, many a millenia ago. Back to the point, he performed this feat of determing who our child would be, in exchange for something of mine."
"What did he want?"
Aro gave a thin-lipped smile, "nothing that concerns you. It revealed your name and the day and month you would be born. However, all magic has limitations, and the year was undetermined. Thankfully, Demetri had joined our forces, and every month I would try to have him track you, and knew that every inability was due to the fact you hadn't been born yet. We waited and kept our minds occupied with other activities to keep from fretting over not having you in our grasp. Unfortunately, that became impossible, especially during the hunting of the Immortal Children."
"The what?"
"Babies and toddlers that have been transformed. They are an abomination and cannot control themselves," Aro answered kindly, reaching out for Helen's hand and caressing her knuckles. "Nonetheless, your mother and I did not give up hope that we would find you. Once Felix became infatuated with your little hobby, I had a background check run and yet met the criteria. After that, well," Aro smiled proudly. "You know what happened."
Helen retracted her hand from Aro's fingers and nodded curtly, "thank you for telling me this."
"Your welcome, Helen." He replied politely, "now go wash up for lunch. I have fed, and so shall you."
After finishing her bowl of angel hair pasta with a spicy shrimp tomato sauce, Helen began watching a re-run of Once Upon A Time. She had always liked this series, mostly because of Killian Jones and Sheriff Graham. Not to mention that Robert Carlyle was very good-looking in those suits. It was the episode entitled True North, the one where Hansel and Gretel had performed a task for Evil Queen Regina, in exchange for their father's wherabouts. Regina's desire for love tried to trick the two children by offering herself as their family instead of their father.
"But he's all we have." Gretel choked out after discovering he 'abandoned' them.
"He doesn't have to be," Regina replied with malicious intent. Those two lines could not have hit Helen in the gut any harder, that was what it felt like with the strange parental encircling with Richard, Aro, and Sulpicia. The two of them wanted nothing more than for Helen to be their daughter and renounce Richard. The thing was, they didn't really love her. Of course, she knew they cared about her, that much was certain, if they hadn't they would be as cruel to her as anyone else. But, they just loved the idea of her, and all that waiting and falling for the thought of having a child had convinced them that they did love her.
She felt for them, especially Sulpicia, maybe that was what kept her from having constant panic attacks. 'They were wrong though. I will never belong to them, I'm all grown up and know who my actual parents are. Maybe if they had found me as a baby or child, things would be different, then I could be happy here.'
Helen's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on her door. Sulpicia silently entered the room, neither angry nor happy, "do you have a minute?" She nodded and muted the television.
"Alright, did I say something to you to make you uncomfortable?" Sulpicia asked softly, "because I don't know what I said that would cause that, but if so, I truly apologize."
"It's not that." Helen replied, "look, I didn't feel like I should've been there. That was something and someone that meant so much to you, and I shouldn't be involved with it. That place was sacred and special to you, and it's your thing, not our thing."
"Were you uncomfortable?" She asked somberly.
"A little bit." Helen nodded, "but not because of what you did or said."
"Are you sure?" Sulpicia asked, "I don't want things to become indifferent in our relationship."
"I'm sure, it's fine." The thing was, it wasn't fine. Helen couldn't conform to this new life, she would always be the outcast human, even if she did let Aro change her into a vampire. That was it, she really did need to leave.
"Good." Sulpicia beamed, "so, there's this charming little spa in town. If you want, tomorrow we can have a girls day, go get a massage and a facial."
"Sounds like fun, what time would you want to go?"
"Around two, this way I have my thirst under control." She replied.
"Cool." Helen replied. She figured out exactly when she could make a run for it, around the thirteenth hour, when every single member of the Volturi would be at the same place. Then, Helen would find a way to escape and go home.
Helen set a nine-thirty alarm for the next morning and awoke to the smell of eggs and roasted red potatoes. She finished her breakfast with two cups of coffee and took a bath. While she soaked, Helen thought about the many ways she would try to escape. 'Okay, I could try sneaking into the garage and taking that blue Honda. But, how am I going to get into the garage without going into the throne room? Um, maybe I could try the garden gate or climb the walls? It's either that or I tie a bunch of my sheets to an anchor and climb out the window. Oh, lightbulb!'
Before she could finish processing her idea, Helen jumped when she heard someone knock on her bathroom door. "Darling, are you having a bath?" It was Aro, did he know? Was he trying to stop her?
"No, I decided to fill the tub up and stare at it." Helen replied snarkily.
"Don't be cute." Aro snorted from behind the door, "I have business to attend to and I came to see if you were awake. I won't be able to see you until tonight and tomorrow I have to leave for Hong Kong."
"Why?" Helen asked as she shampooed her hair.
"Werewolves. They are causing havoc as usual, not to mention they are attempting to take Volterra." Aro said irritably.
"Well, how dare they." Helen replied sarcastically.
"Don't stay in there too long, it's bad for your skin." Aro replied as he walked out the door. Helen finished getting cleaned up and drained the tub. It took thirty minutes for her to rummage through the closet and find casual clothes. A red long-sleeved t-shirt, blue jeans, and red converse. She could imagine Aro making a sour face at these articles of clothing as she put them on.
Helen placed her laptop back inside her backpack and grabbed a light brown leather jacket from the closet. Helen only wished she had her cell phone, but Aro wasn't stupid, he knew he couldn't trust her with it. She opened up the balcony doors and was in fact, about five stories above the ground. There was no way she could climb down without breaking her neck.
"Are you trying to escape, Signorina?" Lucita cleared her throat as she entered the room.
"No." Helen lied curtly, "just looking at the view."
"Is that why your bag is all packed and you have not worn anything nice?" Lucita had seen right through her, "I can help you if you want."
"They will kill you if you do that." Helen assured her.
"They're going to kill me, anyway, I just hoped that they would find me useful." The Italian beauty sighed in defeat, "I might as well save someone else from here." Lucita walked over and grabbed Helen's bag, "feeding is in half an hour, but most of the guard is already there. Heidi never arrives precisely on time, so you have longer to escape. I will take you out the only exit that doesn't go through the throne room."
"Thank you." Helen breathed and hugged her tightly, "thank you, so much."
The so-called back door turned out to be another route towards the garage, Lucita opened the garage and helped her get outside the back gate of the castle. "Go into town, find a telephone and call for help. This is all I can do for you, if I drive you, we will get caught."
"Thank you."
"Go!" Lucita urged, knowing that she would never see Helen again. Helen ran as fast as she could into the city of Volterra, hoping she would never return to the Volturi castle. If only that hope had succeeded.
Helen had run as fast as she could for the better part of twenty minutes, thankful for the cool November breeze blowing against her skin. When she reached her entrance into town, Helen stopped to catch her breath, only to realize that she needed to keep going. She couldn't let Lucita's sacrifice be in vain. Reluctantly, Helen forced herself to continue on. She looked around for any form of transportation, or at least a telephone.
While out in the open like this, she felt as though every person was keeping an eye on her, like Aro still had eyes and ears on her.
'Don't draw attention to yourself. You're so close!'
"Excuse me." Helen spoke to a nearby old couple, "do you speak English?"
"Yes, Signorina." The old man responded kindly, "can we help you?"
"Do you know where I could catch a cab or use a phone?" Helen asked hopefully.
"Down two blocks to the left, they call cabs and have a free phone."
"Thank you, so much." Helen replied respectfully and preceded to dash down the streets, occasionally bumping into a stranger or knocking a sign over. She couldn't help it, she was almost there.
The old man could not have been more right about the shop. The woman at the register allowed Helen to use the telephone the second it opened up, after figuring out how to make an international call and the decision on who the recipient would be, the phone rang three times before being picked up.
"Hullo?" A slightly hung over voice answered.
"Ruby, it's me, Helen." She said joyfully.
"Hendricks?!" Ruby's voice woke up. "holy cricket, how did you get away? Or, by some act of God, did Aro let you go?"
"No, I got away, I had some help. Listen, I'm in Volterra and I have about," she glanced at a nearby clock, "thirty or forty minutes before I enter Hell. I need your help."
"Okay, okay." Ruby yawned, "what's the address? I'll send you a cab that'll take you to Rome." Helen obliged and told her the exact street and lot she was on and where in the store she was.
"Alright, kid, stay right there." Ruby ordered sternly, "do not go outside at all this time. You're in his city and he has eyes and ears everywhere, even if you get away, Aro is going to come looking for you in St. Louis, so I'll try and get you someplace else as quickly as possible.
"Thanks, Rubes." Helen exhaled.
"Hendricks, it's good to hear from you. I'll see you soon."
Helen sat patiently in the shop, nervously tapping her fingers against her knees. Was Aro going to come find her? Was he going to kill her or Richard when he discovered she was gone? What about Henry or Wesley or her best friends? She should've just stayed put and toughed it out, but she couldn't help it, she didn't fit in and she wasn't going to conform. This wasn't what she wanted.
"I have a cab outside for H. Hendricks," a stubbly driver told the woman at the cashier.
"That's me." Helen said softly and walked over to the driver.
"Alright, I've been wired the cash, so just enjoy ride." His English wasn't impeccable, but she could understand him, thankfully. When she stepped outside and embraced the partly cloudy sky, she turned to the right and noticed someone wearing a long, dark cloak. No! This couldn't be happening, she had come so far!
"You okay?" He responded carelessly, "you look pale."
"Let's just go!" Helen urged and forced him into the cab and hurried into the back. When she looked at the back window, the cloaked being was gone. Oh, no! No, she was doomed! One of the guard members had seen her leave the shop, which meant that Aro knew and Lucita was dead.
"Here we go, Rome ahead."
The cab barely made it to the outskirts of the city before being plagued with a flat tire. Adrenaline was pumping through her pours and setting her into a state of pure panic.
"Can't you fix it?" Helen pleaded, "I need to leave, like now!"
"Calm down, sheesh!" The cabdriver snarled, "I call for help, they come."
"You don't understand!" Helen screamed, "he's going to find me, and then he's going to kill me! Don't you have a spare?"
"Yes." He replied with a shrug, "it's on the back right side of the car."
"I'm going on ahead," Helen inhaled. "On foot."
"It will get cold!" The cabdriver said in frustration, "I will get in trouble!" Helen paid no attention to his pleas and marched ahead into the forest near the nearby field. The air was beginning to get cold and the sun had all but disappeared from the clouds, but Helen carried on.
Deep into the grass and trees of Tuscany, Helen tried her best to figure out where the hell it was she was going. The jacket was barely doing anything to keep her warm and she getting hungry. She really wished that she had packed something to eat or snack on. After what seemed like hours, she had reached the same tree she'd seen an hour ago and realized that she was walking in circles.
"Uh..." she groaned.
"Excuse me?" A male voice made her spin around an shorten her breath. "Are you lost?" The male had a scruffy, earthly look about him. He was in need of a shave for his patchy beard and he looked very homely in the t-shirt and short he wore. His eyes were a strange purple, and Helen's experience with the supernatural made him uneasy to her. It took his one step foreword for Helen to shriek, "stay back!"
"Sorry," he gave an apologetic smile and raised his hands in assurance. "Are you lost?" He repeated.
"No." Helen said nervously.
"Are you sure?" He replied, "because, you're about to step in a fire ant hill." Helen looked down and jumped when she felt the stinging sensation on her ankle. After swatting the pests off of her feet, she went back to having a straight face.
"I'm not exactly sure where I'm at." Helen admitted, "except, near Volterra."
"Well, my house is nearby if you need someplace to go." Helen felt very uneasy when he offered his hand towards her, or that he was just very insistent on being near her. Her last experience with a stranger in a forest had made her more wary of strangers.
"No thank you." Helen said firmly.
"Are you sure?" He took one step foreword and Helen took several steps back. "I have a fire lit, it's going to get cold."
"I'm fine, thank you." Helen asserted and turned around. She took two steps before the guy called out to her, "going back to the Volturi?" Her heart stopped at the mention at that word, how did he know about that?
"The what?" Helen tried to seem ignorant.
"You know, the leaders of the vampire world." He walked closer to a frozen Helen.
"There's no such thing as vampires." She said as her hands began to shake, something was very, very bad about this guy. "Oh, honey, I'm afraid there is." He streaked through the air and appeared behind her, whispering in her ear. "Or, should I call you Helen?"
"H-how do you know my name?" She choked out as she felt his breath on her neck, making her turn around and try to stare him down, even though he was a foot taller than her.
"Everyone knows who you are, the little pet that Aro is so fond of." The male smiled deviously, "or is going to despise in a couple of hours."
"Who and what are you?" Helen said in shock.
"Frederick Vanom, commonly known as Fred." Fred replied in a more natural sounding English accent. "Born, 1762, died, 1786. Can you guess what I am?" He flashed his strong-looking teeth.
"Werewolf." Helen squeaked out. This was bad, this was very, very bad. She really was going to die, now she really wished she had stayed in Volterra! This was all of her fault, she had been so stubborn and now she was going to be killed!
"Yeah." His grin became dangerous, "let's play, little human. When I'm done with you, he's going not going to stand the sight of you."
"Why are you doing this?" Helen tried to stop herself from crying.
"Simple. If I have you as a hostage he won't kill my brothers in Hong Kong, I would've thought that the all powerful Aro would know that love is nothing but weakness." He grabbed Helen by the throat and pinned her up against a tree. "It's a shame he kept you this fragile little human, then you might stand a chance with your newborn powers."
Fred threw Helen towards the ground, her skin grazing against the many rocks and twigs from below. She tried to stand back up and run away but he was too quick and shoved her back down.
"Hold still you little bitch!" He snarled as he kicked her in the ribs, knocking the wind out of her. Helen cried out in pain and tried to fight back, elbowing him in the groin and causing him to lean over in pain. She stood up and attempted to run back towards the fields, but Fred grabbed her by her hair and shoved her head into a large rock, ripping several strands out and breaking her bloody nose.
"C'mon." He yanked her arm, "beg for your life. Let me hear you wish that you'd stayed in Volterra."
"No!" She screamed out and punched him in his lower abdomen, not even fazing him. Fred's eyes flashed in anger and he kicked her in the ribs some more, this time surely breaking something. He crouched down over her waist and starting slapping her across the face, making her taste blood in her cheeks.
"This isn't even the beginning, little human." He whispered darkly, "when the moon comes out and my venom activates, Aro better call off his forces, or you'll be the thing he hates most, kind of like how you hate him."
"I don't hate him, but that doesn't mean I want to stay with him." Helen choked out some of her blood on his face.
"Well, just see how sweetly he treats you when you become his mortal enemy." Fred stood up and prepared to walk away, "oh, and just in case you try to escape." He placed his foot on her left femur and lightly snapped it clean with little effort. Helen screamed in pain as her bone broke.
"Dear God..." Helen sobbed out.
"God won't save you now, little human." Fred chuckled as he streaked through the air, waiting for the moon to rise, leaving Helen alone to wallow in her own pain. 'Aro, please help me!'
Helen could do nothing except lay in the dirt, sobbing and hoping that someone would find her and help her. She wanted Aro to come save her, so that she could apologize for leaving him and not realizing that he did care about her. Night was coming and the sun was beginning to set, meaning Fred was going to come back and make her into a monster.
As the wind grew harsh and cold, Helen heard footsteps coming near the grass. Please, no! Not yet, she didn't want to become a vampire, let alone a werewolf. "Helen!" The feather-like texture of that voice made her relieved when she saw Aro rush over to her and try to tend to her beaten form.
"Aro?" Helen sobbed out. "You found me, thank god!"
"Whose done this to you?" Aro gently wiped her tears away, worry washing over his face.
"This Frederick guy, he's a werewolf." She explained, "he said he was going to use me as a hostage to try and get you to stop that assault on Hong Kong. He said he was going to change me, so that you would hate me."
"I could never hate you." He replied kindly, trying to comfort her, "I love you so much." Maybe it was the several slaps to the face that Helen took, but when he said that, she finally believed it.
"I'm sorry I left." Helen sobbed out uncontrollably, "I really am."
"I know why you did." Aro assured her, "and I need to be accepting that you aren't happy. You were right, I should have taken your wants into account before I took you to Volterra. I just wanted you so badly, and it took this and Sulpicia setting me straight for me to realize that. Will you forgive me?"
"As long as you get your foot off of my broken leg!" Helen shook in pain as the pressure was applied, Aro quickly did so and gently picked her up in his arms. "Sorry about that."
"If you drop me, I will hurt you." Helen warned as her leg stopped hurting a little bit.
"You're going to hurt me?" Aro asked playfully.
"I fought a werewolf and lived, I can take on a vampire." She corrected.
Aro didn't want to risk the werewolf Frederick coming after Helen in a hospital and had a private doctor examine her in her bedroom. The sheets had been changed to a silky light gold, her leg had been casted and her face had been all cleaned up. Helen took some pain medication and was fed some soup by Sulpicia, who had been thrilled that she was okay.
"I cannot believe you survived a werewolf attack." She said as she sponged some of the blood off of her face, "Caius nearly lost a fight with one some ten centuries ago."
"Is that why he's such a sour soul?" Helen wondered out loud.
"No, but it is why there are such strict laws about their kind. Now that you have been harmed, Aro is most certainly going to seek revenge." Sulpicia replied with a soft and maternal smile.
"He should let it go, I lived didn't I?" She replied while rubbing one of her eyes. Just before Sulpicia answered, Aro appeared in the doorway and knocked lightly knocked. "Sulpicia, may I have a word with you?"
The blonde vampire nodded and rose from her chair, following Aro out of her bedroom. Helen couldn't but wonder what it was that they were talking about. She was slightly surprised when she heard Sulpicia shout. "Do as you please, but don't say I did not warn you!"
Helen heard the outer door slam in anger and wondered what it was the two of them were fighting about. Aro re-appeared in front of her and kissed her cheeks, "Helen, my dear, there are some people I would love for you to meet." He made a motion at the door and two women entered at his request. The first one was a young girl no older than Helen's age with brown hair and an hourglass figure. The other woman was around Sulpicia's age with black hair and long legs.
"This is Chelsea," he pointed to the girl. "This is Corin." He then pointed to the woman, Helen couldn't help but feel a strange warmth growing inside of her. She felt completely at ease, absolutely content.
"Hello Helen," Chelsea with a bell-like voice. "We've heard so much about you, and it's very nice to meet you."
"I'll let you ladies spend some time together," Aro replied in a chipper voice, no one noticing the devious satisfaction in his eyes.