Chapter 4

I woke up, shivering. It was so cold – the floor was stone, the walls were stone. There was a door, a toilet and sink, a slit window which let in enough minor light for me to tell it was morning, and that was it. I was curled up in a ball on the floor, trying to retain some heat. I still had on my tiny summer top and shorts combination. I couldn't remember why I was here, because I was so drowsy. I wondered if I had been given some form of sedatives. Something about some vampires... and a tour?

That was it! The tour – I had gone on it with that tour guide... Heidi, and then I had run away. I recalled Aro's face when I ran. He hadn't looked happy. Now I was going to be stuck in this dungeon forever or until I died. Or not, because I couldn't die of old age. I sat up, drawing my knees to my chest and resting my chin on them. What was I doing, just sitting here? The thought flashed through my mind. I should be trying to escape! I clambered to my shaking feet.

The slit window was far too narrow to slip through, even though I was very thin. That left the door. It was a heavy oak affair, but that didn't sway my determination. I had the elements on my side. I pondered what element I could use. I supposed I could set it on fire, then freeze it again? I knew vampires didn't like fire, which would distract any guards outside for a few minutes. I smiled, then poised my hands towards the door. A little ball of hot fire appeared in my hand, and I gently flicked it. Upon collision, the door instantly burst into glowing flames.

"Oh, crap!" someone hollered to a fellow guard. "He didn't tell us she could set things on fire!"

I listened until I heard pattering up the hall. I presumed the guards had retreated, because the entire thing fell with a crash to the floor with a flurry of smoke. I coughed, then lifted my hands again, sending a jet of water towards the remains of the burning door. While the door spluttered, I poked my head through the now door-less doorway. The coast seemed to be clear because I could hear no motions or muttering, but I couldn't smell any scents over the smoke which was filling the corridor. I dived left, stumbling through the smoke. I would rather have done this in normal clothes than night ones, so I hoped I didn't wander in to anyone's path.

A few more corridors later and I was still wandering through dungeons. Where were the stairs? They must have been where the guards ran up – there were none around here. I cursed my stupidity. Could I blow a hole in the ceiling overhead? No, I probably could not. I scowled as I wandered around a bit more. It was so cold down here! I sank down against the wall, my teeth chattering. Hopefully I could die of hypothermia before the vampires found me. I lit a fire in hand and placed it in front of me for warmth. Then I closed my eyes, because I was still really exhausted.

I must have fallen asleep for a while, because the next thing I heard was, "There she is!"

I blinked a bit, and then was startled into alertness when two cold arms closed around me in a vice. The man swung me easily over his shoulder, and as I kicked and thrashed wildly, he only laughed. He was the tallest person I had ever seen – a seven foot giant. He seemed to find me amusing because he kept an humoured smile on his face, which annoyed me greatly. Maybe that was the point though. Another guy was following behind us, smaller than the giant counterpart, but still a lot taller than me. He kept a rather deadpan expression on his face, but he also looked like he was trying not to chuckle at my childishness. I decided to try a different tactic.

"Please don't put me back in that cell!" I pleaded. The pair exchanged glances. "Or can you at least turn on the heating?" I added hopefully. "I could get hypothermia and die."

"Sorry, Miss Picky, we don't have any down here," the giant boomed, rolling his eyes as if I was meant to know that. Ha, I should have known.

"My name is Serena!" I snapped.

I was unceremoniously abandoned in another cell, this one featuring a metal door that I found would take a lot more time to melt. Apart from that, it was exactly the same as the other one, although I found I now had a pet in the form of a rat. For some reason, the rat didn't mind me that much. It just scurried around the cell, looking a little wistfully at the window it couldn't reach. Since this was a dungeon, the window was in level with the ground, so I scooped the little fellow up in my hands and he crept through the slit. I peered through and watched him go, then slumped back against the wall, alone again.

There was a little peep hole in the metal door – I looked through. Though I couldn't see the giant and his pal, I knew they were there. They were talking in low voices, and probably didn't realise I had more advanced hearing than a human. I narrowed my eyes.

"Hey!" I yelled. "When can I get out of here?"

Silence. It was now raining – a little puddle was forming on the floor. I knew I could not let that water near me, so I evaporated it. I still had no answer, but I heard their voices fall silent.

"I know you're there, guys," I said. "I could hear you talking. And I also know you can hear me."

There was a pause, then – "When the lords want to see you."

"Great," I said sarcastically. "When's that then?"

They fell silent again, and I gave up. I had lost track of time, but one of them had slid an music playing device under the door, which I learnt was called an iPod. I took this gratefully, because I really liked the music that humans made. It was different to mer music, which was all choir-like and wailing. I could not sing to save my life – contrary to popular belief, not all mermaids can sing that good. In the midst of my thinking, the cell door swung open. I looked blankly up and saw a woman enter.

She was beautiful, naturally because she was a vampire. Her eyes were big, doe-like, innocent; her hair was a pile of old-fashioned chestnut ringlets. She wore a black cloak – it swooped into a large red 'V' at the front, the Volturi emblem. The woman possessed an odd sort of purity and sweetness that vampires did not usually have. In her hand were some clothes and underwear, and she turned her back while I changed. I was still cold and shivering, so she took off her cardigan and passed it to me. I thanked her, but she still said nothing, merely gesturing for me to follow her.

A moment later, I was being ushered into a grand room. A fire was burning in a grate, which was strange being as vampires hated fire. In the room were five vampires – Aro, Caius and Marcus, and two unknown women. I presumed they were Caius' and Aro's wives, from the way they both hung off their husband's arm. The woman whom escorted me here made her escape back through the door. As I entered, one of the wives clapped her hands together and stepped forwards, glee evident on her lovely face.

I practically jumped fifteen feet into the air as put her cold hands on either side of my face. "Oh," she gushed, "she's such a doll, Aro!" The woman was tall and had beautiful blonde hair which tumbled down to her waist, like a fairy princess in a human story book. In reality I knew fairies did not actually look like this, as I noted the first and only time I had so far met them, but she was pretty either way.

"Hello?" I said, but by now the other woman had come over too. They were both studying me, hands clasped, with enraptured expressions on their faces. Was I that much of a freak show? My face remained in a pleasant smile, but really I was slightly irritated.

"She'd look so pretty in a dress, instead of those old clothes," the blonde lady muttered to her friend. "You smell mouth-wateringly delightful, by the way," she commented airily to me.

"Um... thanks?" I stuttered. Was that the right thing to say? Just then I heard a soft chuckle from behind the women. I had almost forgotten that there were other vampires in the room.

"My dears, I think you might be overwhelming our guest," Aro said smoothly. The blonde woman flitted over to his side and clutched his arm, giggling. She was really maxing her fairy impression to its limits.

"I think we should keep her, Aro," she wheedled. I could at least thank her for pleading my case.

Aro smiled at her, gently detached himself from her grasp, and drifted over to me. I watched him warily as he did so. "Might I take your hand, young one?" he asked politely. I was too scared to say no, and I had a feeling that this man was not someone you said no to anyway. I nodded fearfully. Caius and Marcus were watching this exchange with sharp eyes, though Caius looked more bored whereas Marcus' face looked slightly upset. He was scrutinising me much more closely, and I wondered why.

I could see the memories Aro was flicking through. My wayward childhood, what I saw and heard from the ship that evening, my transformation and Sasha. I hoped Sasha was okay. Should I send her a note that I was fine? I wondered. Aro must have seen this, because he nodded along. "Yes, you should," he told me, "but under supervision."

Don't trust me? I thought to him.

But he didn't hear me, because he was too immersed in the memories of my powers. A delighted smile was spread across his face – I took this to be a good thing. He didn't want to kill me yet, hopefully. He was mulling something over, I could see. Possibly whether I would be executed or not. But then, if I was not going to be killed, would I have to stay here all my life? Eternity was a long time.

"You are immortal?" I had forgotten that Aro still had my hand.

"Yeah, once I hit eighteen," I shrugged. "Why?"

"And you are seventeen?" he clarified, ignoring my previous question.

"Yes," I said, and fireworks practically exploded behind his crimson eyes. "Oh, but this is wonderful!" he cried joyfully, dropping my hand. "Excuse us for a moment, my dear," he added to me, as he floated back over to Caius and Marcus, and promptly began to converse quietly with them. I could have listened in, but I didn't because the women had moved back over.

"I am Sulpicia," the fairy woman said. "This is Athenodora." She gestured to the other woman. Athenodora was elfin-like, with pointed features, a slender body and a mane of wild auburn hair.

"Dora," she said. "Call me Dora. You are Serena."

I was going to ask how on earth she knew that, but Aro interrupted. Caius looked a little more interested in me than he had before, though Marcus was still staring at me with an infuriated expression. What was that man's problem with me?

"Serena," Aro addressed me, more respect evident on his face than before. "Never have we encountered any of your species before – it has been an honour, young one. But onto my point... we feel your talents could be beneficial to us, Serena, therefore we have made a decision. Would you like to join the Volturi as an honorary guard member?"

I was not expecting that.

For a moment, my mind was blank. I was completely and utterly stunned by the offer. It was a dream – a new life for me, though I could sense that there would be some hard work. But what about the rest of the guard? Would they like me? I would be a halfling amongst a bunch of vampires. It could spell disaster, so what the hell was I meant to say to Aro? My mind was a whirl.

"Before you answer," Aro cut in quickly, "we do have a condition."

I looked at him suspiciously. This couldn't be good.

"We would like to bite you," he said simply. "We want to see if we can maximise your powers. We want to make you into the first half-vampire, half-mermaid in the world."

...

Don't you love dramatic endings? I hope that was a nice little twist that I chucked in there. Anyway, sorry for not updating earlier. I was busy, though I do realise that is a totally lame excuse.

Thank you to my lovely reviewers. You motivate me to open up Microsoft Word and start typing. Here are some virtual chocolate muffins for you! :)