Chapter 10

Jane laid on the ground, as broke as she can be. After the deed was done, she was tossed aside like a rag doll. Her eyes stung as those were the tears that she could not shed. She laid awake, as the blonde did not want to close her eyes.

Weep, my dear. Weep...

She would see the demons that plague her mind. The blonde vampire would be forced to relive it all. Her screams echoed loudly in her mind. The flashes of images bring shivers down her spine. The images of pinning her down, with her being defenseless and silent. Of being robbed of something she treasured the most.

Let your sorrow flow. Let yourself feel the sorrow over your hapless fate.

"J-Ja-n-nne-lla..." Jane found his voice to be distorted.

The milky red eyes bore a sinister glint in them. She was forced to watch everything unfold. The leader of the Romanians was such a monster from hell. Jane could still feel his nails digging in the marks that he left in her body healed, yet she found herself still feeling everything.

Such tragedies lie in silence. In the still of the storm, the quiet violence that wrapped herself with such thoughts of light and how she would make it out okay. The questions that she asked herself, but the answers remain unspoken.

She sat there hoping, praying to such deities she knew but she knew her heart bleeds.

Weep, darling. Weep... Your porcelain skin is tainted with filthy marks. Your mind is shrouded with such nightmares of the past.

Memories do not have a sound. Memories should not torment you with words spoken out tragedy she saw was like a her lips crying out yet there was no motion.

The Romanian had done such a deed yet love was not implied.

She could see herself helpless in the glass above her during the deed. Such an image was embedded in her vision. His lips upon her felt like a thousand knives stabbing her. Her lips felt like it was on fire, burned to be exact.

Like the flames that were dancing on your feet.

Jane snapped out of reality as she smelled the familiar scent of burning. She could only scoff at how the Romanians did their effort to bring Aro down, by using her. As if he cared about her, the blonde did not know. Vladimir was by the side, he was just watching her.

The Romanians were headed by Nikolai in whole power. The blonde vampire observed that Vladimir and Stefan were just second in command to Nikolai. It was Nikolai himself who ruled with power all to himself. Vladimir remained expressionless as Jane was unable to read his emotions.

He just stood there watching her.

"You do realize that I need to follow orders." He simply remarks. "Now why would you think I would help the enemy? Let alone a Volturi scum."

Jane stared at him with such hatred in her eyes. The pain seen in her eyes could bear holes onto the souls of persons she had set her sights on. Her dead heart was heaving with such pain.

Her pain. Jane's pain would be felt by many. Her pain would bring fire onto them. They would feel how is it like to be burned. They would feel it.

Yes, they would.

As she stared at the Romanian who was merely watching her, the unthinkable happened. Vladimir fell to the floor, screaming.

The last thing she remembered was seeing red. The flames might have consumed her but she did not care.

The fire within her was awakened. Jane swore to herself that she will walk with her head held high. Every man would fear her and she would be untouchable. No man shall touch her again and she will be victorious amongst all.

Her child-like beauty will be their worst nightmare that will haunt them to know her. Generations of vampires will know her name and will fear her. They would flinch at her name yet tremble under her gaze.

The darkness shall know her name. The devil shall fear her. Every vampire would quiver under her gaze. She would live up to her name. Witch twin it is, she shall give them hell.

By the time Alec and Felix reached her, they found Vladimir writhing on the ground in agony. Alec's eyes darted across the area. He did not seem to recognize the state his sister was in. Jane was staring into Vladimir intently. Her gaze was fixed on the Romanian with such hatred she could muster.

His sister looked like she was in a trance.

Alec slowly went to retrieve his sister. She had been tied on a makeshift stake and fire was circling her. He went in and slowly untied the rope that bound her to a stake. Jane flinched at the sight of him which he found it odd.

"D-Don't touch me!" she yells.

The blonde vampire backed away from Alec. Somewhere in the corner of his eye, Alec took notice that Felix took care of the Romanian that was writhing in agony. Alec attempted to get closer to his twin. He knew she was terrified, yet he did not know what caused her to be like this. He grabbed ahold of her hand and tried to lead her out.

She hesitated.

"Sister... Jane, it's me. What's happening to you?" he asks in concern.

Jane stared at him blankly. For a moment, Alec had thought of disposing of anyone who laid a hand on his precious twin sister. Her actions towards him made it easier to read his twin's unspoken language. The marks on her skin were evidence considering the state she was in.

Those bastards touched Jane. They held her with their filthy hands despite how undeserving they were. What hurts him the most was that Alec was not there to protect her. This happened to her because he was not there for her.

Jane's actions gave away that they made her suffer under their cruel hands. It took Jane a moment to remember him.

"Alec!" she threw herself in his arms. Alec staggered back with the force he was met with. It was highly unusual for Jane to be affectionate and it took him aback to see her like this. She sobbed brokenly in his arms.

"Shhh... I got you, sister. No one will harm you while I'm around. We've come to bring you ho-" Alec was not finished explaining when Felix cut him off.

"We have to go, Alec. There's no time, we must not keep the masters waiting."

He held his sister close to him the entire time. Alec did not want to let her hand go in fear that she will disappear. Jane had been silent on the way back but they managed to find their way out by incapacitating their opponents.

He noticed that she was not up to par with her vampiric abilities. Jane was much slower than a normal vampire would be. He could not wait to tear apart the vampires who dared to touch his sister. He would ignore the masters' orders for that. He was sure they would not mind.

Every vampire that was under his twin's gaze dropped down in pain. Alec's gaze darted towards his sister who still had that murderous glare radiating from her eyes. They made it out of the ruins of what the Romanian fortress used to be.

The battle had begun.

The Volturi made its move against the Romanians and had attacked them already. There were losses amongst them but they fared better than their opponents. The three Volturi kings waited in the clearing. They were waiting for Alec and Felix from their specially assigned mission.

"I swear Aro. If you do not stop pacing back and forth, you are going to make a hole and I will bury you six feet under!" Caius seethes.

Marcus did not hide his grin at him either. He just wordlessly told Caius to let his raven-haired brother be. He could clearly see the bonds tightening which was in contrast to what he saw the last time he checked their bonds. Marcus was rather worried to see it slowly loosening its grip, but his raven-haired brother never failed to surprise him.

Aro was full of surprises indeed.

"Why can't he just admit he's smitten for her? He may be a powerful vampire but he's no less than a fool himself." Caius grumbles.

"He might hear you, Caius. Watch your words, the guards are nearby," Marcus reminds him.

"I heard that brother!"

Marcus could only sigh in defeat. His brothers surely acted immaturely and he would live to see it every moment. It was no secret that he also served as the mediator of the two. If it was not for him, the two vampires would have killed each other a long time ago.

Thankfully he did not witness that yet. He does not want to anyway.

The one who sees the bonds' gaze drifted to his raven-haired brother. Marcus could clearly read his expression and knew he was worried. Like all of them were, but he knew it to himself that Ao could not wait to burn the place down.

Aro was not used to be terrified for someone's wellbeing. He toned his worry down knowing that Marcus was watching him. The one who sees bonds does know how to annoy him after all. The raven-haired vampire was not denying that he was worried.

What if all for this was for nothing? And they disposed of her before they could retrieve her?

His mind was such a dangerous place after all. The raven-haired vampire shook himself out of the monsters of his mind. The three kings heard the leaves slowly rustling and prepared for the enemy to attack. In such heavy footsteps, they prepared to counter the attack that they might have missed.

Alec and Felix emerged from the ruins. The raven-haired vampire breath a sigh of relief when he saw Jane emerged with them. He did not stop himself from enveloping her in his arms. He inhaled the scent of her hair slowly.

He held her tightly, in such fear that it was all a dream that she returned safely.

He was overjoyed for her to come back in one piece. Jane in his arms safe and sound had him thanking every deity that there were. He thanked them for giving her the courage and strength to overcome what she had might been through with them. She stiffened with his display of affection.

He would thank them for not ripping her away from him. For such a soulless creature like him, it was such a rarity for the deities to listen to him. Aro had noticed an unfamiliar scent on her as well and he growled softly at the foreign scent that came with her.

She flinched with his gesture yet she had accepted to be in his arms.

Jane held on to him for her dear life. The Volturi king let his walls down for a moment. She needs him the most and he was not the one to deny her that. The wind blew her hair gently and his gaze drifted to the marks on her neck.

It was a lover's bite.

Aro cupped the blonde vampire's cheek gently. In her eyes, he saw no light. He once remembered that her eyes were so full of life and light. What he saw was the opposite of it. One-touch brought him to see what had transpired.

He saw her memories.

Everything made sense to him. The raven-haired vampire wished that he did not have the power to see the mind. It was simply painful to see her defenseless under the clutches of Nikolai.

The raven-haired king was aghast of what she had been through. He had seen through her eyes what kind of torture she was put in. The bastard would pay, he swore to himself. The volturi king could only whisper soft words in her ears.

"Y-You're safe, my dear. No one would be able to harm you, not on my watch." He whispers and she relaxes in his arms.

Grasped in the reality that she was safe again, the Volturi king did not notice one of their foes planning to attack sneakily behind him. In her trance-like state, Jane reverted her gaze to the one who dared to harm her master.

"Pain..." she slowly whispers.

Stefan dropped to the ground, screaming. The Volturi guard was quick on their feet to keep the rogue vampire from attacking their masters. Aro slowly pulled her away from himself. Her eyes were still half-lidded and he could only smile.

He once promised the world to her. The raven-haired vampire would conquer it, with her as a loyal ally.

"My, it seems we have unlocked your power. Do not fret, my dear. The world would know your name and fear will escalate from them. They would never dare to hurt you, Jane," Aro had a lot more to say yet it all came to a halt when darkness overtaked the blonde vampire's vision for the first time in centuries.

It was his worried gaze that she saw before drifting to the darkness.

"The devil would like to send his regards."

His hands traveled all throughout her body as she was pinned down the bed. Jane was powerless against his figure. He was bigger than her, much stronger. The blonde could only scream when he ripped off pieces of the white dress.

Jane knew that vampires did not have the ability to sleep yet she found herself waking up to the homey walls of Volterra once more. The light was seeping through the windows as the blonde vampire slowly sat up. The fair-haired woman met her gaze.

"Are you alright?" Athenodora asks.

"H-How long has it been?" the blonde could only whisper as the fire burned through her throat. She had caught sight of herself and her eyes were pitch black.

"A week. Aro, Marcus, and Caius brought you back unconscious 4 days ago. According to my husband, you were put in a severely weakened state by Nikolai himself."

The blonde could only zone out. She had been out for a whole week and Jane could only huddle her knees in her chest. Her hands slowly shaking as the memories haunted her once more. His voice once reigned her mind and put her in a state of vulnerability.

"You cannot go anywhere, my dear." His tone had a hint of poisoned sweetness in it. "You are powerless against me, child. With the help of some of the talented in our coven, you will not be able to move around." His gaze met hers.

"In short you are weak. Weaker than our kind."

"Nikolai was already taken care of, dear sister." Jane's gaze reverted to Alec who was sitting near the window. He was now wearing a dark cloak that sparked curiosity within the blonde vampire. "He was destroyed by Aro himself after you lost consciousness."

"My brother and Caius had gotten into a rampage after the spectacle that you performed, my dear. Athenodora knew it herself that Caius could not be stopped on a rampage, let alone Aro." Didyme's bell-like voice rang inside her chambers. The raven-haired woman sat down on the bed.

"Oh yes, they could not be stopped..." Athenodora said as she grinned at her fellow wife.

"You better get dressed properly, young lady. You must feed first and the ceremony shall follow. There is a feast in honor of your powers taking its form."

Jane adhered to Didyme's wishes and fed first. She now found herself in front of the vanity as Athenodora was gently brushing the blonde vampire's hair. The blonde vampire was nervous, she could not deny that.

"Nervous?" Athenodora asks as she placed the Volturi crest on Jane's neck. It was the same necklace she was given by Aro when the twins joined the Volturi. It had been with her in her rise and her fall. The pendant itself already had its scratches but she did not mind.

It was a simple reminder that she was also broken after all but stood through the test of time itself.

"It seemed like it was a blink of an eye that you were entrusted in our care. Look at you now, about to serve the kings." Athenodora smiles as she faced the young blonde.

The fair-haired woman bent down and kissed Jane on the forehead. It was a bittersweet moment for the fair-haired woman, to be given a chance to be a mother yet her children to be ripped away from her.

"La terria terria..." she whispers in the blonde's ear. Jane might not have understood its meaning yet the fair-haired woman knew it so well. It was a Spanish phrase meaning 'my world' and served as a lullaby given its message that the such child as the mother's world.

"Jane and Alec do not belong to the Wives."

"They are not your children," Caius' words echoed in her mind. Athenodora could do is inhale sharply at her husband's actions. She was done, she was so done.

"A woman can be a mother when given a chance. You..." she stares at him angrily. "Gave me that chance and you dare to rip them away from me. I am sorry Caius but I would not let that happen."

She would be a proud mother to escort her down towards the ceremony. In the fair-haired woman's milky red eyes were the tears she could not shed. How bittersweet such the moment was?

She would be a proud mother to see her children yet faced with the prospect of losing them once they served the guard. She chuckles bitterly as she led Jane down the throne room.

Their voyage across the unseen waters had come to an end. Everyone would walk a different path and went on separate ways.

Aro was smiling at the blonde vampire as she entered. Athenodora resumed her place next to Didyme as the raven-haired king took the blonde vampire's hand. The whole coven was overjoyed to gain such powers as the twins have.

The twins were already considered to be the Volturi's most offensive weapon yet the wives know it themselves that great power comes with greater responsibilities. Athenodora grasped Didyme's forearm and the raven-haired woman also knew what she was going through. Didyme glanced at the fair-haired woman and nodded in acknowledgment.

It is because Didyme felt the same as well. She could not deny that she was deeply worried about the twins. The twin's presence would shake up the whole system of the Volturi guards.

Sorrow enveloped the wives in such joyous occasions. They realized that the children they had loved, was not meant for them after all. The twins belonged to the guard,

Not them.

"You have shown your courage, loyalty, and determination. With such a precious talent like yours, you will go far beyond what was envisioned. Welcome, my dear."

It was Didyme who handed his brother a black piece of fabric. It was a black cloak, it was dark as charcoal. It might be the softest of its kind and obviously the finest. The other members' present gasp quietly in surprise. The rich color of black that was as dark as charcoal was only worn by those of the highest rank.

Jane did not fail him. She proved herself to be worthy of his attention.

Aro placed the cloak over her small shoulder. He strokes her cheek lovingly in such a sense to show that he was proud of what she had become. Jane faced the crowd and spots the traitor within their ranks. Aro and the blonde vampire shared a glance and he nodded slowly.

The traitor will be dealt with at a later date.

It seemed like it was just the blink of an eye. For they had picked on them before. Calling Jane and her twin such absurd names. Yet here she was, standing victorious amongst all. The blonde vampire stood in triumph amongst the crowd that has judged her once.

After all, she had been through, she had been resilient. Then there's the last of her old self. Fading amidst the lights of such triumph. The silence was in her mind. A smile that they once saw would fade away in centuries. A void in her unbeating heart.

Jane stood there, leaving a trail of unseen battles and broken promises amidst her triumph with the agony that knowing there's nothing more her heart could do, but to accept the fact,

She was not meant to stand by his side but to stand a few steps behind him. She would have to accept that in order to live.