gift or curse (A Twilight fanfiction)

Chapter 18

Rustling of leafs was the first indication the wait was over. It was different from the soft movement the wind had caused and we turned, now facing the woods on our right. Two people emerged and from the corner of my eye, I saw the blond women relax.

The man and woman who now stopped in front of us, were dark-haired and I was grateful to see their faces were at least not as angry as the ones to our left.

"Demetri." The man, I guessed this must be Eleazar, nodded curtly.

Demetri returned the greeting and added: "Eleazar, Carmen, allow me to introduce to you: Ariadne. We have a question for you."

I watched, anxious, as Eleazar cocked his head to examine me more directly. Somehow it was strange, to remain standing in the snow, my boots still in my other hand, without even the expectation of moving the meeting indoors. The unease however, had more to do with the hostility that still swirled the air around us, than with any show of civility. Like when I had first come to Volterra, I didn't feel the need to act human.

Finally, I couldn't contain myself anymore and asked, a bit too loud, perhaps: "I need to know what my superpower is, can you tell me?"

This surprised our unwilling hosts, but apparently it also eased the tension.

"Oh, right. Yes, of course. I didn't realize ... You are not here on behalf of the Volturi?"

I shook my head a tad too fast, which caused the dark-haired woman, Carmen, to smile.

"They don't even know we're here." My eyes widened after I let that slip and I looked at Demetri apologetic. "Sorry, I didn't want to risk anyone stopping us, so I didn't tell. But I will call, as soon as I find a phone, alright?"

Demetri's exasperated sigh made me bite my lip and again I whispered: "Sorry."

"Aro won't be pleased", he muttered, which, surprisingly, made the two blond women laugh.

The mood lightened enough for Carmen to finally invite us inside and as we followed them through the door, she handed me a cellphone that already had the Volturi number on speed dial.

If I was still human, I would have had a lump in my throat, but now there was nothing keeping me from answering to the Italian greeting on the other side of the line. I recognized the voice, it was the lady from the reception. She probably knew about vampires, so I could just tell her to give Aro a message, right?

"Ehm, hello, this is Ariadne. Can you give Aro a message? Tell him we'll be back tomorrow, alright? Okay, thank you, bye."

I hung up before the receptionist could even utter a syllable and for a minute I feared I'd talked too fast for her human ears to have understood. But then I sighed and handed the phone back to Carmen. I froze when I took in the looks on the faces of the four Alaskan vampires.

Demetri had his palm against his face. Perhaps I should have made him make the call.

"I am not sure it's such a good idea that you should return at all", Carmen said with weary eyes.

"Why?"

Before I or anyone could say anything else on the subject, Eleazar took a step forward until he was right in front of me. In an instant Demetri was at my side, but the dark-haired man merely looked at me with concern.

"Aro indulges you a lot, doesn't he? I think I understand why."

Suddenly all my nerves flew away. "You know what my gift is? Tell me!"

"You can command anyone to do your bidding."

My mouth hung open and Eleazar sighed, after which he chuckled a bit.

"You see what I mean?"

I kind of didn't and looked at Demetri, who now eyed me with wonder.

"That is indeed a most powerful gift. And it explains a whole lot."

"What?" I turned his way. "What does it explain?"

With his hand rubbing his chin and a frown on his forehead, Demetri paced a few steps up and down the hallway we were still occupying. "The first time Aro tried to read your thoughts, you stopped him. I didn't understand why he didn't punish you immediately, but now I know. He must have understood what had happened."

As realization finally began to dawn, more and more instances presented themselves and I suddenly grasped the meaning of my gift.

"Jane ... I stopped her, that's what he meant. And the man at the airport, he let me pass when I asked him, no, told him to." The encounter with Felix and Alec in the hallway also flashed through my mind.

"And the last time we were with Aro, when I ... told him ..." My voice trailed off. Aro had done as I said, not because he wanted something from me and indulged me, but because I'd commanded him.

"Wow."

"Yeah", one of the blond women nodded in response.

"Is she in danger?"

I turned my gaze back at Demetri, who now looked at Eleazar with concern.

"That depends."

"On what?"

"On what your future will be like. She is ... different, young, unpredictable and very powerful. Aro will most definitely feel threatened by her and will want to enlist her. You can run, but I am not sure you will be able to hide from him."

I didn't like where this conversation was heading. "He leaves you alone."

"We are a big coven, without cause he will not jeopardize his carefully crafted rule over the vampire world. Believe me, he tried."

What did that mean? Did it have anything to do with the reason they seemed to dislike Demetri so much? Probably.

"And I fear your gift is one he will not want to loose. And neither is yours." Eleazar turned his look towards Demetri, who narrowed his eyes.

I piped up: "He will not loose anything, as far as he hás anything to loose. We are controlling our own destiny and if Demetri decides to stay with the guard, then so will I."

His frown evaporated, making room for an astonished expression.

"He will try to use you, make you do terrible things", the second blond woman said.

I snorted. "Nobody makes me do anything. It is my choice and from what I have just learned, no one will ever be able to make me do anything. I don't know what the history is between you and I don't really want to know. I came here for an answer and now I have it, so we can go home."

Felling a bit riled up, I walked over to Demetri, grabbed his hand and pulled him with me towards the door, just like I had done before we left. The thought halted me.

My eyes widened as I fretfully asked: "Did I ever command you? Did I make you do something you didn't want?" That idea actually frightened me. What if everything that had happened between us was my fault, what if this was all against his will?

He stopped that train of thought by taking my face in his hands and kissing me. "No."

One simple answer. It was enough.

I turned my head, said: "Thank you for the answer", to Eleazar, who nodded, still looking concerned, but resigned and then we left the house.