15th chapter
The following days, Caroline spent lots of her free time with thinking. One evening, she spent reliving the events in the throne room again to help her mind recover. She needed to face the fact it happened and that she wasn't weak for feeling the pain and the helplessness, or to put it shortly, for feeling human. So far, she was still human and she could very much behave like one. She could cry, if she felt like it; she could laugh, if she wanted to. The times she put someone above herself were long gone with the day, John and her went separate ways. Caroline always put him first, his career, his tastes and dislikes, his happiness; everything was more important than her wishes and dreams. And that was her past, nothing she would carry over in her future, she would make sure of that.
Caroline was sitting at her desk with Heidi, as they spoke about the upcoming tours, when a door opened. The women looked at the approaching person and once Caroline saw, who appeared in the doorframe, she grew nervous. "The masters want to speak to you," Jane stated in her sweet, high-pitched voice. She looked at the secretary and turned to leave. Caroline knew the drill and stood up, she dried her already sweating hands on her jeans and looked at Heidi. "I'll wait here, we will continue later," she said reassuringly and smiled at her. Caroline nodded and quickly made her way out of the room to follow the very intimidating girl. When the double doors came into view again, she couldn't calm her racing heart, the scenery from that fateful day played on repeat in her mind. Without realizing she walked a little slower and put her clothing into position.
Jane opened the doors and let the woman in. Once inside, Jane left to stand next to an equally young kid, a boy Caroline hadn't seen yet. She heard the doors fell shut behind her and she forced her attention back to the men in the thrones. She looked at Marcus on the throne to her left, he had the smallest of smiles on his face and nodded slightly in her direction. That was the moment, that Aro rose from his seat. He clasped his hands in front of his chest as he looked at their secretary. "My dear Caroline, I'm sure you are aware of the reason, we summoned you today," he started and looked eagerly at the human.
Caroline furrowed her brows at his comment, but she proudly held his gaze. "As you were already told, you will be turned soon," he continued and looked at her in an almost childish-joyful way. She thought there was some mischief in his eyes as he spoke and didn't dare to look away even once. "We set the day to the 17th February, so the both of you have some time to get accustomed to it." His eyes wandered from her to Demetri, who stood next to the double doors, and back to her again. Aro still wasn't too fond of not turning her himself, but Marcus had a point and there was no harm done in giving in that time. He would gain a loyal guard with a useful gift one way or another.
"That's all for now, my dear. We have another guest we need to receive," Aro said again and returned to his throne. "Thank you, master," Caroline said and bowed slightly. She copied her behavior from the guard as best as she could, since it would be expected from her in due time. When she turned and walked to the door, her eyes darted immediately to the tall, intimidating guard, she still didn't know the name of. As he looked back at her, she forced her attention at the door. Caroline couldn't help it, in that room with so many intimidating vampires in it; she felt small and watched. As quickly as her human movements allowed it, she opened the door and left the room.
Caroline let out a relieved sigh as she made her way back to her desk. It was only then, in a moment of silence, that she realized her days as a human were numbered. In three weeks, she would die as a human and be reborn as a bloodsucking, probably brainless newborn vampire. She shuddered at the thought, but kept her pace to get back to her desk quickly. The more space she got between her and the throne room, the better. Once she arrived in the entrance hall, Heidi looked at her questioningly. She rose from her seat at the troubled expression in Caroline's eyes.
"You have three more weeks to find a replacement," Caroline said and forced a smile on her face. She walked around her desk and let herself fall into her chair. "The date is set, then?" Heidi returned to her position next to the other woman and sat down as well. "Yep, 17th February," Caroline answered and her eyes locked on the documents in front of her. Heidi made a mental note to herself. It couldn't take long until she was asked to go on her next fishing trip, for the day before that day, to make sure everyone was well-fed. Of course, the vampire noticed the pensive behavior of the human and smiled slightly. "Let's get those tours over with and after that, we can talk about something else?" Caroline looked at the other woman and smiled as well. She sat upright and took the documents in her hand to go through all of them individually.
In the evening, Caroline sat with Heidi in her room, she had a glass of white wine in her hand as she laughed at the story Heidi told her. She took a sip and leant back on the couch; the wide smile was still on her face. "How many languages do you even speak?" Her eyes glistened in amusement and curiosity. Heidi laughed lightly. "Oh, a few." She crossed her legs elegantly and looked at the other woman. "They do come in handy, when you travel a lot." She winked at her and showed her a knowing smile. "You need to teach me, please." Caroline looked hopefully at the vampire and swirled the glass in her hand. Heidi only laughed at her demand and shook her head slightly. "We'll see. You have so much to learn in the next few years." Heidi knew that especially the first year will be extremely difficult for her. She might do well and she even tried to prepare herself, but truth be told, nothing could properly prepare her for what was about to happen.
Caroline looked at the stunning woman with the slightest bit of disappointment at her answer. But she would hold her on to that. She didn't specifically say 'no'. Her eyes travelled to her glass of wine, she watched the moving liquid and got caught away in her thoughts. Heidi cleared her throat to get her attention. "You don't have to work tomorrow, and I am off-duty tomorrow. I'll pick you up at 9am, I want to show you some places," Heidi stated out of the blue. "Get some rest, you're going to walk a lot." She smirked slightly at the human and stood up. Caroline looked completely dumbfounded at Heidi, unable to form a word or even move a muscle. The women looked at each other for a few more seconds, and Caroline was finally able to break out of her frozen state. "Excuse me, but what?" It wasn't her best or most intelligent answer, but it was all she could muster in that moment. Heidi stepped a little closer. "The weather will be perfect, the forecast said it would rain most of the day and you definitely need to spend some time outside of these walls. And maybe, I want to go there as well." She winked at Caroline and smiled widely at her. "Now, hush. Get some sleep," Heidi spoke up again and moved to the door to leave. Caroline shook her head and tried to process what just happened. "Okay, see you tomorrow morning then," she finally managed to answer as Heidi was at the door already. She knew by now, that Heidi wouldn't tell her what she was up to, she had to be patient and wait, what the vampire had in store for her.
The next morning, Heidi guided Caroline through hallways, she had never seen before. They were in the, for now, restricted area for her and she followed the vampire silently. After a few minutes, they reached a door, that led both women to a huge garage. Caroline widened her eyes in shock at the sight and her mouth hung open to complete her astounded feeling. She had never thought that something like that could be found there. Heidi played with the key in her hands as they made their way to a black limousine. Once she realized Caroline's facial expression, she laughed lightly. "What did you expect? A graveyard?" The other woman chuckled at Heidi's words and relaxed in her posture. "Not necessarily, but I, well, imagined you wouldn't rely on vehicles." She opened the door to the passenger seat and sat down. The interior was made of white leather and looked completely untouched. Heidi sat down on the driver's seat and started the car. "How else would we get around?" Her voice was filled with amusement, as she drove slowly to the exit. "Well, you are super-fast, I think even faster than a car," Caroline said and looked at the woman next to her. The blue contact lenses, the vampire put in for their trip, were strange to look at. Caroline was so used to look into red eyes, everything else on those beautiful creatures seemed off. Heidi pushed a button on a small remote control, that laid in the center console and the huge door in front of them opened. "We are faster than cars," Heidi said with a smirk as they waited for the door to open completely. "But they are practical for transport and obviously less suspicious on some occasions." Caroline nodded in understanding and she looked at the road that slowly became visible as the door ascended. The rain wasn't heavy but made a raincoat or an umbrella necessary. With a click the door reached the top and Heidi looked at the other woman with an anticipated grin. "Are you ready?" At that look, Caroline clawed at her seat, but before she could answer, Heidi pushed down the gas pedal and with squealing tires they sped off.
"You do realize, one of us can still die in a car crash?", Caroline muttered. She couldn't take her eyes of the road and she pressed herself into the seat. Her tense form was the complete opposite of Heidi's relaxed approach at the high speed of the car. Her vampiric reflexes allowed her to drive fast and safe easily. She loved to drive, she couldn't really describe it but it felt great, at least to her. She looked at the human with a smile on her face, which only worsened Caroline's fear. "Don't you dare take your eyes off the road," she squealed immediately. Heidi laughed but she obliged her wish and turned her attention to the way in front of them.
Caroline relaxed slightly and after a while she sat completely normal next to the vampire. "Any chance you tell me, where we are going?" She asked, but her eyes stayed on the window on her right. She followed the trail the rain left behind, because of their high speed. A few droplets wriggled at the edge of the side mirror, fighting desperately to stay in place. She really enjoyed rain, not always of course, but especially when she could be somewhere dry and watch it in peace. Back at her old home, she loved to sit on the balcony, depending on the temperature, she had a blanket and hot cocoa with her, while she just sat in silence and enjoyed the sound and smell of the rain.
"I want to show you one of my favorite places in closer proximity and while we are at it, I thought you'd maybe want to see the torre pendente di Pisa," Heidi explained with a smile and glanced at the other woman. Caroline's head shot in her direction; an astounding expression on her face. "Really?" A huge smile spread on her face and she shifted in her seat in anticipation. Due to Heidi's fast driving, they reached their first destination in no time. Heidi parked the car in a huge parking lot and the women walked with their translucent umbrellas in the direction of the Leaning Tower. The rain lessened but didn't stop as they stepped on the plaza. Caroline's eyes shot at the building; she only knew from pictures. It was fascinating to witness the strange structure in real life, she wondered how it still stood at that angle. While her eyes took in everything around her, Heidi offered some historical details to her.
Almost a half hour passed and Caroline was satisfied with everything she saw and heard, but it seemed kind of rude to her to tell Heidi, that they could leave already. She tried to show some fake interest in the architecture of the other buildings. She just was not into art, those buildings and most statues and paintings were beautiful without a doubt, but she just didn't care about details, artists or epochs. Music was something different, she loved it, that didn't mean she could remember all those musicians. She either liked a song or not. Caroline got a little closer to the cathedral next to the tower and tried to act as if she inspected something, when a voice next to her startled her.
"Are you done, pretending to be interested?", Heidi asked and her voice made her amusement clear to Caroline's human ears. She jumped slightly as she didn't expect the vampire to notice or even be this close to her. The bell-like laugh that escaped Heidi's mouth made Caroline pout slightly. She just didn't want to be rude. "Come on, let's get back to the car," Heidi offered and they returned to the parking lot. Once they were on the road again, Caroline looked at the breathtaking woman next to her.
"Sorry, I didn't want to seem selfish, but I'm just not into arts. It's beautiful, yes, but please spare me details of what the painter thought when he held the paintbrush," Caroline said and waved her arms exaggeratingly to prove her point. Heidi lifted an eyebrow but smiled widely. "No details on arts, got it." It was silent for a while in the car and Caroline noticed that the rain stopped, but the sun still had no chance to break through the thick grey clouds.
They drove for a while on a mostly straight road and Caroline simply enjoyed the view. A relaxed smile spread on her face and she felt at ease at the moment. Maybe she really needed some time outside of the castle walls. She took a deep breath and let out a long sigh. She didn't know that the vampire next to her, eyed her every once in a while. "Do you want an advice?", Heidi said after a few minutes, which forced Caroline to look at her. "Of course," she answered and turned her attention to the woman. "You told me about your ex, John. That you did everything for him," Heidi started and all Caroline could do was stare at her. She didn't know where this conversation would go. "I'm pretty sure, since you broke up, you tell yourself that you should be strong and brave and put yourself above everyone else," Heidi continued. "So, act like it. Just spit it out, that you are not interest in arts, that's no crime. I'm not made of sugar." Heidi laughed lightly at her comment.
Caroline blinked a few times at Heidi's words. "I did already start to change since we broke up," she said in a low voice and looked on the road ahead. "Or you become who you were always meant to be," Heidi mused with a small smile. "You are going to be an interesting newborn." Caroline couldn't help but smile as well, those words from Heidi meant a lot to her, even though she barely said anything. "Can you turn your ability off?", she suddenly asked and Heidi frowned immediately. "What? No, why?" She glanced at Caroline with an amusement expression.
"I don't know," she answered. "But somehow, I don't feel so attracted to your words anymore, no offense," she laughed and her cheeks reddened. "The first few times we spoke, my confidence was gone and all I could do was stare at you and do whatever you would want me to." Heidi just smirked and an amused scoff left her mouth. "Really? Good to know," she said. "You are a very strong-willed person and get used to me and my power. It's enough to attract unaware humans, but it can be avoided." By the time she ended her explanation; Caroline realized that they drove slowly through a city. The still fairly visible red on her cheeks intensified a little, but she managed to nod at Heidi.
Caroline couldn't help but look up at the white mountains in the distance in awe. Her happy face turned to the vampire next to her, who had almost the same expression on her face. "Wait a bit, we'll get a little closer." The anticipation could be heard in her voice. "This is Carrara," she explained and chuckled lightly. The name didn't ring a bell to Caroline, but she didn't ask further. Her eyes wandered over the buildings and busy people on the streets.
After some minutes that seemed almost endless, Heidi drove right to a closed road. There were two people standing at a boom gate, as she slowly drove closer. She lowered her window with a bright smile on her lips. The men got nearer and when they saw, who was in the car they smiled almost too happily. Greetings were exchanged and more, but Caroline didn't understand a single word. Soon, the men retreated and the gate opened. Heidi sped off again and into the mountains. Caroline lifted an eyebrow and looked at the still smiling Heidi. "What was that?" Heidi chuckled lightly. "We are good customers, probably their best. We have free access through their gate." She sounded as if what she said made any sense, but Caroline was still not sure, what all of that was about.
After a few more minutes, Heidi parked the car and winked at Caroline. The women stepped out of the car, their umbrellas closed, but held firmly in their hands in case the rain came back. The fresh, cold wind blew rigid and Caroline quickly closed her coat. Once she rose her gaze, she was in a state of awe again. She looked at the white stones all around her and it was clear that there was no snow, but pure marble. She laughed in disbelief and immediately knelt down to touch it.
"Come on," Heidi said and the women followed a trail deeper into the mountain. After a while, Heidi stopped and turned to the human. "That is my secret spot, though if I go alone, I come here by foot and don't need to get through the gate," she said in a happy tone. Caroline looked around, the view she had from this spot was absolutely breathtaking. She could see the large ocean in the distance, the forest surrounding the mountain and the large city right behind it. "It's beautiful," she said and let her eyes and mind simply enjoy the moment. But Caroline didn't understand, why Heidi showed her all of that, so she turned to the vampire once more, who stood at the edge of the cliff.
"Why did you bring me here? Why showing me all of that?" Her voice was barely above a whisper. Heidi closed her eyes for a second, but didn't turn to the other woman. "I don't know, honestly," she started and smiled halfheartedly. "Your mindset and attitude intrigue me, we basically will live together like forever and I had the strange feeling, that we could get along, so I wanted to know you better." She turned to Caroline and the way she spoke and the expression on her face, showed the honesty Caroline hoped for. The women looked at each for a moment. "Thank you," Caroline finally said and smiled warmly. They didn't need to say another word and Caroline couldn't tell what she felt that exact moment, but she was truly happy.
Not too long after, they were back in the car on their way to Volterra. "That was nice," Caroline said and Heidi nodded. "True, we should do that again, one day." Soon after, Heidi parked the car in the garage and escorted the other woman back to her room. Unbeknownst to both of them, a pair of red eyes slowly retreated into the shadows of the hallway.