Author's Note

It's been a week, hello again!  Unlike my first story I'm still in the process of writing this one so there will be about a week between updates.  I'm two chapters ahead in writing anyways, so I'm pretty sure I can stay up to date.  If you like my story, please vote and comment!  First person to comment on the story gets a DEDICATION!  Thanks for reading!  :D

Chapter 3 - Immortal Instruments

Jane and Alec stop in front of a large, wooden three-panel door and I can't help but wonder if the room it opens to is just as big proportionally.  Alec swings it open and sure enough, the room is four times the size of my bedroom back home, complete with my own bathroom!  I just stand there in awe while Jane and Alec are already inside.  "Are you coming in or not?" Jane asks irritably.  I shake myself out of my shock and walk into the room.  There is a large king sized bed against the middle of the wall on the other side facing the door with cream colored sheets and a dark red canopy overhanging it.  The walls and carpet match the cream of the sheets.  On the left hand side of the room in front of all the windows I have my own entertainment system, complete with a flat-screen TV, and all the bells and whistles that go along with it. In front of the TV are nice maroon sofas.  Like the door, the wooden trimming around the room looks like a dark cherry wood.  The closet door on the right, and bathroom door directly to the left of the entrance are made of the same wood too.

In the midst of looking around, I see Alec grabbing and placing a huge stone sculpture in front of my door to act as a stopper.  "What's that for?" I ask.

"Most of the doors in the castle can only be opened by vampires.  They are too heavy for humans to handle in order to keep out the nosier tourists," he explains.

"So I have to sleep in here with my door hanging wide open?" I question.

"You do unless you want to essentially lock yourself in here," he replies smiling.  Great, now I can't even have privacy in my own room when I'm trying to sleep in a castle full of vampires? Thank goodness for the canopy on my bed at least. Maybe I can use that as a divider while I'm sleeping. "Jane and I will take you shopping tomorrow so you can stock up on clothes and whatever you humans need," he tells me, showing no emotion.  Jane, on the other hand, whips her head towards Alec and gives him a subtle glare.  I'm guessing she wasn't informed on the matter.

"So what am I supposed to do here all day today?" I ask, looking between the two of them as they turn to leave.  Alec just shrugs before he and Jane walk out together.  I roll my eyes and start checking out the rest of the room.

I start with the electronics.  The flat screen TV is sitting on an entertainment center, but upon closer inspection, I only see empty drawers where the movies should be.  I decide to turn on the radio, but can't find a good Italian station with my favorite American hits so I make a mental note to find some good music tomorrow while shopping.

I then walk over the closet to see that it's actually a walk-in.  The left side has an empty clothing rack, the right side has empty shelves, and the far end has empty drawers.  Filling this up is definitely going to take more than a day's worth of shopping, not that I ever plan to buy nearly this much stuff.  I shut the closet door and head over to the bathroom.

The bathroom isn't as huge and fancy like I expected it to be compared to the room it connects to, but I guess it's more for show since vampires really don't need bathrooms anyway.  Regardless, it is still considerably larger than my parent's master bathroom was.  There's a Jacuzzi, shower, toilet, sink, another small supplies closet.  The color scheme is the same as in the bedroom. While it looks like just a model bathroom you'd see in Ikea, it's definitely the nicest bathroom I've been in.

After I'm done exploring, I make my way back into the main room and snuggle myself inside the warm bed sheets.  Once my head hits the pillow, serious jet lag starts to settle in and I fall asleep in record time.

* * *

I wake up around noon the next day, still groggy, but I can't shake off the uncomfortable feeling of hunger rising in my stomach. I hadn't eaten since the plane ride to Italy. I quickly shower and change back into my only set of clothes, making it my new mission to find the kitchen.  I know there must be a kitchen, because that vampire chef needs somewhere to make those delicious looking treats from yesterday.

I make my way down hallway after hallway, not realizing until now just how big this castle actually is.  I consider asking for directions, but don't.  Why?  Well, not only is the one vampire I could actually consider a friend not even in the country at the moment, but there doesn't seem to be anyone in the castle that I can find.  I try opening a few random doors here and there, but like Alec said last night, they are all too heavy for a human to open.

Getting nowhere, I decide to try and find my way back to my room where at least I can watch some Italian TV shows to keep my mind off my hunger.  I take a few turns in which I thought were in the right direction, but after a few minutes of aimlessly wandering, I know I'm hopelessly lost.

One thing grown-ups tell you when you're younger is to stay put if you get lost and eventually somebody will find you.  Being in a castle full of vampires, I figure they will find me only if they want to find me, whether I'm staying put or not, using my scent or heartbeat.   I just slump down on the floor anyway, staying put for the sake of my own sanity.  I'm a little groggy, so I rest my head on my knees and wrap my arms around my legs hoping a nap will make my time lost go by a little quicker.

After five minutes of hunger pains keeping me from successfully falling asleep again, I hear footsteps walking toward me.

"What are you doing here?" an annoyed voice asks me.  I lift my head up to see that it's none other than King Cranky himself.

"Hello Caius," I greet cheerfully as I start standing up.  I don't think I would even care if Giant was the one to find me, as long as I don't have to sit like a lost, hungry sheep any longer.

"What are you doing just sitting around here?" he asks again, with a little more annoyance to his voice than anger this time around.

"I'm hungry, so I was trying to find the kitchen," I tell him.  As if on cue, my stomach makes an embarrassingly loud rumble that I'm sure every vampire on the property can hear.

Caius lets out a sharp sigh, "Follow me," he demands. I may be dreaming but I swear I see his lips twitch into a slight smile before he turns the other way. Then again, it could also be a scowl. That's more likely. Regardless, I hop up, smiling at my small maybe-success and quickly catch up.  I might as well be friendly with everyone considering I'm likely not leaving anytime soon.

"So what exactly is the Volturi?" I ask, never having received my Vampire's for Dummies manual.

"We make and enforce the laws for all vampires," he explains.

"How do you enforce the laws?" I ask curiously.  Do they have spies or something posted everywhere in the world?  That would seem a little extreme, but who knows.

"If we hear of someone breaking the rules, they get killed," he tells me.  I raise an eyebrow.  Wow, they really do mean business.

"So you don't have some sort of a vampire court system then I assume?"  He stops and gives me a weird look.

"Of course not!" he says and continues to walk as if I just asked him to turn into a bat and dance on the ceiling.  Hey...

"Can you turn into a bat?"

At this he turns and looks at me as if I'm a patient in a mental hospital.  "For a girl who has grown up around vampires, you sure know nothing about us do you?" he asks.

"Well, we never exactly sat in a friendship circle and spilled our secrets," I tell him, "How did Aro know about them anyways?  I never told anybody."

"That's where you're wrong.  The second Aro touched your hand; he extracted every detail from your life, specifically your interactions with those three vampires," he explains, "It's his gift."

"Do all vampires have 'gifts'?" I ask.

"No," he says.

"Do you have a gift?" I ask.  He walks a few more steps before stopping in front of large white double doors with small round windows looking in.

"Here's the kitchen," he says, ignoring my question, "Chef Lavitto can prepare anything you might want," he then turns and walks back the direction we came, without even a goodbye.  Rude much?  I didn't even get a chance to say thanks, next time maybe.

I push open the huge white doors - thankfully they're human friendly and not ridiculously heavy like every other door in this castle - to see the familiar crimson-eyed face of the chef I saw manning the dessert table yesterday during the tour.  He's a bigger guy with gray hair and a moustache curled up at the ends.  He is wearing a black chef's uniform, hat, and apron.  He looks like the figures you always see at Italian restaurants twirling pizzas in their hands, just a little more deadly.  The kitchen is enormous! If Michelin Star judges came to the castle, they'd surely be impressed.

"Well hello Piccola!  I was wondering when you were going to stop by!" he greets me in a heavy Italian accent.  The kitchen smells absolutely amazing!  It looks like Chef Lavitto is whipping up some mini cherry cheesecakes with graham cracker crusts.

"Are these for the next tour?" I ask, admiring the artistic swirls of the homemade cherry sauce decorating the cake.  He lets out a hearty laugh.

"Oh no, These I made for you when I heard you would be staying with us from now on," he grins.  My eyes widen.

"These are all for me?" I ask, completely shocked.

"Well, nobody else here can eat them," he smiles.  I shake my head in amazement, staring at the works of art sitting in front of me.  "I have a batch already done over there in the fridge," he says, pointing to it, "but I made you some of my delicious cannoli if you want real food first," he laughs.  I look over to the huge granite island and sure enough, see a steaming plate of authentic Italian cannoli.  My stomach makes another loud grumble, and the instincts take over.  Seconds later, I'm stuffing my face with creamy pasta goodness!

"Slow down, or you'll get sick," he laughs, bringing over an already made tray of cheesecakes.  He sits down on the opposite side of the island as me and pops one into his mouth, moaning in delight.  I watch him in wonder.

"Didn't you just say vampires can't eat human food?"  I ask with my mouth full.

"Yes, I suppose I did just say that," he says laughing.  "I heard you and Master Caius talking about 'gifts' outside.  This," he says pointing to another cheesecake, "is my gift," he finishes, popping the dessert into his mouth.  "I still need blood to sustain myself, but I am able to eat and taste human food just as any human would.  It just has no 'nutritional value' I suppose you would say."

"Huh," I say, thinking back to Caius, who never answered my question.  "Does Caius have a gift?" I ask curiously.  Chef Lavitto gives me a look as if he shouldn't really be saying anything, but is thinking about it.

"Master Caius does not have a special gift," he finally admits, "but I would not bring it up again with him as it can be a sensitive subject."

"Oh," I say.  So Aro can read minds by touching people, Caius doesn't have a superpower, what about the other guy?  "Who's the third vampire king who always looks so bored?" I ask Chef Lavitto.

"That is Master Marcus; he senses the relationships in and between the people around him," he explains.

"I see."  I wonder if and when that comes in handy.  I drop my fork onto another piece of cannoli, but am disappointed to look down to see an empty plate.

"Are you still hungry?" Chef Lavitto asks, noticing my slight frown, but surprisingly I'm not hungry anymore.

"No, it was just really good," I tell him sadly, reaching instead for my chance at a cheesecake before he finishes them off.

"Ah!  Well, you come back around dinnertime and I will have a new dish waiting for you!" he exclaims, "In the meantime, I must get back to work!  Aro wants eleven dozen cookies to send around to the various other European royal families.  I can't let William and Kate go hungry now can I?" he laughs.

"I guess not," I say smiling, "Thank you so much Chef Lavitto for the amazing food!"

"Oh!  Come here Piccola!" he says, pulling me into a hug, "and please call me Antonio, we are friends now, no?"

I laugh, "Thanks Antonio!" I give him one last wave before leaving the kitchen.  Well, I'm glad I made one more friend here.  I'll have to look up what Piccola means later.  When I get out into the hallway and look around.  Crap.  I still don't know how to get back to my room.  I decide to wing it.  I'm not in any hurry, so why not find my way back while exploring at the same time without hunger holding me back?

"Where have you been?" Jane asks, coming up from behind me.

"What do you mean?" I ask, turning around to see Alec is there too.

"It's supposed to be our big shopping extravaganza!" Alec exclaims, working the jazz-hands.  Oh jeez, at least he seems happier.  Meanwhile, I was so focused on food I completely forgot.

"Sorry, are we leaving now?" I ask.  Alec nods while Jane's eyes look like she's hopped up on some special vampire sugar, but her body stays completely calm.

"We were supposed to leave THREE minutes ago!  You might have nothing to do but sit around in your room all day, but WE actually have work to do!  You're just lucky I'm still coming!" she scolds quietly.  Yeah, I feel super lucky. I mean, three minutes?  Come on!  I just stand there and take her verbal hits in order to keep her from getting angrier, if that's even possible.  Alec just watches the whole scene in amusement.  "Let's go," Jane finally announces, walking off.

"Is she always like this?" I whisper to Alec.

"No, but I'm sure she'll get used to you," he whispers back.

"Not likely!" Jane yells from twenty yards ahead.

Jane leads us the whole way to the garage while Alec and I get to talking a little.  He tells me more about the Volturi and what they do while I fill them in about how I got here.

"So these guys have been tormenting you for seven years?" he asks, amazed.

"Pretty much," I tell him.

"And they couldn't kill you?" he asks.  I raise my eyebrows at him.

"Obviously!"

"Didn't they ever try any non-physical ways to kill you?  Like drowning or poison?" he asks, "Or are you immune to those too?"

"I don't know.  They never tried anything like that.  Maybe they were too stupid to think of it, or they really just wanted to keep me around for the fun," I explain.

"What about fire?" he asks seriously, "Can you touch fire without getting hurt?"  At this, I notice that even Jane turns an ear to me.

"Well, I don't know about fire specifically, but when I was in first grade I was watching my mom boiling some water on the stove.  The phone rang in the other room so she left for a minute to pick it up.  At that time, my dad just got home and opened the kitchen door to let our huge Golden Retriever named Gabby in and she ran full speed towards me, bumping into the stool I was standing on.  The stool toppled over and I fell onto the handle of the boiling pot of water, which then spilled all over me.  It should have given me extreme burns, but it never left a mark," I explain.  Alec just nods and we stay silent for the rest of the way.  Gabby unfortunately got a few burns on the left side of her body and her paws.  She healed quickly though, thanks to her fluffy winter coat which got most of the damage.  She walked around with bald patches for weeks.

"Here's the garage," Jane calls back, pressing a long tan colored button outside the door.  She opens the garage door and I am amazed at the number of fancy Italian sports cars all lined up.  I'm pretty sure they have them lined up according to color, because the first car I see is a shiny red convertible.  Then there are two yellow ones, one green, two blues, and three black cars.  None of them look like they have ever even seen the outside world, they're definitely spoiled.

"Which car are we taking?" I ask Jane.  She ignores me, but continues to twist around the lot until she stops at the first yellow car.

"This is Jane's and my car," Alec explains, getting into the driver's seat.  I get into the back directly behind Alec figuring Jane would want to take shot-gun, but surprisingly she sits in the back where I am.  I look curiously at her, but she just keeps staring out the window.  "You might want to buckle up!" Alec calls from the front.  I quickly lock my seatbelt into place while Jane stays still.

Alec starts the car and heads out onto the road faster than the speed of light.  Every small turn the car makes sends my body flying in the opposite direction he's going so fast.  I'm pretty sure we even pass a few police cars on the way to the mall, but it doesn't seem to faze anyone but me.  I close my eyes and pray for the ride to be over soon.  I've never liked roller coasters, and this ride is probably as even worse than the Steel Venom ride at Valley Fair back home.  If I ever doubted Newton's law of inertia, I'm a die-hard believer now.  Please no emphasis on the "die" part!

To my relief, the high speed equals a quick ride, so we arrive at the mall in a matter of minutes.  I nauseously stumble out of the car while Jane and Alec hop out as if we weren't just going over 80mph in a 30mph zone.

"You look like you're going to throw up," Alec says laughing.

"Very funny," I say holding my stomach.  "Ugh!  Are you even a licensed driver?"

"No," he says.  Of course not.

We head up to the mall and Alec gives me a fancy gold card which he says has unlimited money on it. Despite how suspicious that sounds, I take it and run, browsing through the music, clothes, electronics, and book stores.  I can't enjoy life without a good book to read.

"You know, the castle has its own library," Alec mentions as I look through Barnes & Noble.

"Does it include the Mortal Instruments series?" I ask.  He looks at me like I just spoke in an alien language.  "I guess that's a no," I mumble, grabbing the whole series off the shelf.

By the end of the day, I probably have over twenty huge bags of stuff.  Normally I would never spend so much on myself, but I pretty much came here with nothing to start off with aside from the clothes I'm wearing.  Alec said I should buy anything that makes the castle feel like home, so I did.

When we get back to the castle, Jane and Alec help me carry my bags to my room, which is surprisingly easy to find from the garage.

"Well, I'll let you put everything where you want it.  In the meantime, I've got training to get to," Alec says, walking out the door leaving Jane and I standing there.  I look down at my bags and back up at Jane, just as she is also turning to leave.

"Hey Jane, do you want to help me hang up some posters?" I ask, hoping she hates me at least somewhat less than she did earlier.

"I actually have to get to training right now too," she says, "Maybe another time."

I nod and she heads out.  After she's gone, I flop onto my bed, which is now crowded with bags, and smile to myself.  So I have Antonio, and maybe Alec as friends after one day? And Jane at least can put up with me? Maybe this place won't be so bad after all.