Author's Note

It's a day late, sorry if you were expecting it yesterday.  My physics class is kind of stressing me out since I was gone for a day last week.  Now I have two assignments and one project due MONDAY!  :/  I'm probably going to procrastinate until Sunday night though so I can keep writing, haha, so be happy!  haha.  Anyways, enjoy the chapter!  Remember to VOTE and COMMENT!  FIrst to comment gets a dedication.

Chapter 4 - Training with Giant

At around 4:00 I finally place my last item, a pair of brand new white and red Nike sneakers safely in my closet, which is barely even a quarter full might I mention.  With a relieved sigh, I decide to sit on my bed and start re-reading City of Bones, the first book of the Mortal Instruments series.  Yes, re-read.  I've already read the entire series twice, being totally in love with Jace.  Who cares if he's a fictional character?  When I heard my ultimate celebrity crush Jamie Campbell Bower was going to play Jace in the movie, I... freaked... out.  Literally.

Halfway through the book, I hear a light knocking on my door.  I look up to see Alec giving me a goofy grin.  Jane is standing right next to him trying to keep a straight face, but she's so close to failing.

"Hungry?" Alec questions, eyeing the book in my hands.  Glancing up at the old Grandfather Clock, it's just after 5:30.

"Do you even have to ask?" I ask, slamming the book shut and stepping into my new pair of shoes. 

The pair leads me through the castle and I decide this time to rely on my sub-conscious to remember the route to the kitchen as I study the large paintings lining the walls.  There seems to be one of everyone in the castle.  Aro's, Marcus' and Caius' paintings are, of course, the biggest.  They also are right in the middle of everyone else's.  I recognize Alec's, Jane's, Giant's, Heidi's, Antonio's and Demetri's paintings.  I suck in a shallow breath and avert my eyes as I pass Demetri's painting.  I haven't talked to him since I've stepped foot into the castle, and I'm surprising myself to say I actually kind of miss my first vampire friend.  I hope he's doing okay in the states with Derek and crew.  I wonder what they've been up to in the last few days since I've been gone.  I crack a smile when I realize my family's death can finally be avenged.  Better late than never, right?

Before I know it, I am once again in front of the familiar white double doors leading into the expansive kitchen.  "Thanks guys," I say, glancing at the two of them. 

"No problem," Alec says, resting his arm on Jane's shoulder.  Jane glances down at it with a slightly annoyed, slightly amused expression.

"Felix will be here in an hour to take you to your first training session," Jane starts, "He's the best at what he does, the strongest on the guard."

"I have training right after dinner?" I ask.

"Yes," Jane says indifferently. 

"Alright," I sigh.  I suppose everyone has been vampires for so long they forgot that physical activity after eating isn't exactly a great idea, especially for me.  Once after a delicious, (note the sarcasm,) school lunch of micro-waved chicken nuggets and just-add-water mashed potatoes; Mr. Donnovan, my old gym teacher, made us run half a mile in under three minutes as a punishment for talking after the bell.  Pretty extreme if you ask me, especially considering the fact that I barely ever talked in school.  I couldn't afford to risk getting close to anyone with Derek following my every move.  They would only use it against me.  Anyway, back to the run.  It pretty much ended with semi-digested chicken nuggets finding their way onto a certain gym teacher's shoes.  Not fun, not fun at all.  Opening the door, I decide that I better eat a light dinner tonight, just to play it safe.

"Piccola!" Antonio yells once I step through, dishing up some pasta and red sauce onto a thick cream colored plate.

"Hi, Antonio," I greet back, taking my spot at the island and wasting no time before I start digging in.

"How was your big shopping trip?" he asks, "I see you found some bright outfits!"

"Yeah," I smile, "Everyone else seems to be working it in black, so I figure I might as well be a little different.  Stand out, you know?"  Antonio just gives me a hearty laugh in response.

"Oh, I think you being human is already enough to set you apart from the rest," he laughs.

"I suppose," I smile.  I look down at the plate in front of me and start twirling the long strands of spaghetti around my fork.  I bring it up to my mouth and moan as all the delicious flavors soothe each of my taste buds individually.  It's hard thinking about how I won't be able to eat food like this when I'm a vampire... if I ever become a vampire.  "I'm going to miss this," I murmur, more to myself than anything.  Of course Antonio hears me though.

"You say that now, but you won't when you change," he says, patting my back and taking a seat next to me.

"Do you really think it's possible?" I ask, assuming that he knows my whole situation by now.

"Of course it's possible!" he smiles, "The Masters just need to figure out how to get the venom into your bloodstream."

I take another bite of the spaghetti, "What if I just ate the venom?" I ask, studying my silver fork.

"That won't work," Antonio starts, going deep into thought, "If it worked like that then a human would become a vampire just by kissing a vampire.  No, it has to go straight into the blood," he finishes.  I raise my eyebrows at him.

"What kind of a vampire would want to kiss a human?  And why would a human kiss a vampire?" I ask, thinking aloud, "No offense," I quickly add.

"Well, there have been vampires who have fallen in love with humans," he explains.  "These humans sometimes start off as that vampire's tua cantante, or blood singer, because their blood is so sweet, it is as if it sings to the vampire.  It can be the sign of soulmates," he adds.

"So, this has actually happened before?" I question.  It's hard to imagine such a thing.  I wonder if someone like Derek could have a human soulmate, or Justin, or Rudy.  I shake my head at the thought.  They would probably kill theirs before realizing it.

"Oh, yes.  I've seen it, quite recently in fact," he replies.

"Did the human know they were dating a vampire?" I ask.  Surely that must be against the law.

"Yes," he answers, "but there was always a plan in place change her.  The couple got married and are now both living as vampires."

I widen my eyes.  It's sure a lot to take in; before I came here I thought all vampires were cold-blooded killers.  I just got over the fact vampires can actually be nice, now I hear they can actually fall in love?  With a human no less?  The subject brings forth another question that has been floating around my mind since I got here.

"Are Alec and Jane, like, together?  Like soulmates?" I blurt out, before realizing how ridiculous is sounds to ask out loud.

Antonio lets out a laugh that could've probably shaken all of Italy.  "No, no," he explains, trying to calm himself down.  "Alec and Jane are brother and sister," he tells me, holding his hand over his large belly.

"Oh," I say; my face flushing as I look down at the leftover sauce on my now empty plate.  I guess my plan to have a light dinner is down the drain.  "I suppose that makes sense."  Antonio just nods as he takes my plate to the sink.  "So is there anything else I should probably know before embarrassing myself?" I ask, grabbing a towel and helping dry the dishes.

"Not that I can think of," he tells me after thinking for a minute.

"Okay, what about this Felix guy?  Is he as nice as you?" I ask, hoping to God he is nothing like Mr. Donnovan.  My stomach is cramping up already, just thinking about strenuous physical activity after that huge plate of delicious pasta.  I'm going to have to talk to somebody and get my schedule switched.  The last thing I need is to be responsible for ruining a vampire's shoes.  Then, as if on cue, there's a quick rap on the kitchen doors.

"Well, I guess you are going to find out!" he exclaims as the doors swing open.  I turn around to see Felix, but my breath shortens into a small gasp when I see Giant standing there with a big smirk, the same guy who unsuccessfully tried to kill me yesterday.  Giant is Felix.  Giant is the one who will be training me every day.  Crap.  I better stop calling him Giant, and I definitely better not puke on his shoes.

*

"Anna," Felix greets, a mischievous grin spreading slowly across his lips.  I can't help but stare at his snow-white, recently reattached teeth.  They look as good as new, and as deadly as ever.

"Hi," I stumble, proud that I keep from stuttering.  He may not be able to physically hurt me, but the shock is still present.  A vampire trying to kill you isn't exactly something you let go of easily, even if it was a failed attempt.

"Are you ready?" he asks, as if he didn't just try to drain my body of its life source yesterday.

"Uh," I start, looking back towards Antonio, who just gives me a single nod.  "Yeah," I tell him, setting the damp towel down on the counter.  He flashes me one last amused smirk before turning back out the double doors.  I quickly follow him out, making sure to stay a few paces behind. 

We twist and turn down some unfamiliar hallways until we stop in front of an ancient looking wooden door.  He holds the door open and makes a sweeping gesture with his hand, motioning for me to walk in.  I try to maintain some distance as I walk past him, trying to consciously keep my heart rate down so he doesn't suspect my anxiety, as if it could actually work.  Walking in with my back to him wasn't helping much.  Then, like the speed of light, my body is pushed lightly into the adjacent wall.  Felix stands smirking in front of me, leaning against the wall with his arms on either side of my head.  I have to strain my neck just to look up at him considering he's literally towering over me.  My heart is literally racing for its life at this point as he looks amusingly at me.

"Do I make you nervous?" he asks, his cold breath skimming over my neck, sending chills down my spine.  I widen my eyes in disbelief; did he seriously just ask me that? 

"No, why would I be nervous around a sociopathic vampire that only yesterday tried to eat me?" I ask, coating the words in sarcasm.  Felix arches an eyebrow and looks curiously at me.

"Good question, because I'm actually pretty great if I do say so myself," he says, pushing off the wall and backing off to where he's just standing in front of me.

"Narcissistic much?" I question, studying his bright red eyes for some sign of trickery. 

"Aren't we all?" he replies with a closed mouth smile.

"No," I say monotonously, narrowing my eyes at him.  Oddly enough, I can't see any proof that he's messing with me in any way.  He just laughs.

"Well, when you look in the mirror for the first time after becoming one of us, that will change," he confidently tells me.  At that comment I narrow my eyes even more, vowing in my mind to prove him wrong.  If I ever actually become a vampire, that is.  "Let's get started with the training, shall we?" he asks, turning around and walking to a large black mat set up in the middle of the huge room that would put the Hunger Games training room to shame.  My stomach drops at the reminder that I'm actually going to have to train today. 

"What's the point of all this when one of you guys can still overpower me anyways?" I ask taking the hollow plastic rod Felix hands me.  "It's not like I have super strength or anything."

"It never hurts to get a head start," he replies, taking a solid steel rod for himself. 

"You're kidding, right?" I ask, looking between his deadly metal weapon and my dumb plastic stick in disbelief.

"Nope," he answers, grinning innocently.  Well, this is going to be quite fun, I think sarcastically.

*  *  *

As I predicted, training was far from fun.  My head hit the huge black mat for the hundredth time with a loud thump as I craned my head around trying to find where my plastic stick ended up at.  I groan when I see it dangling from one of the lighting fixtures forty feet up.

"I think that's good for today," Felix says, throwing his rod like a javelin across the room and into its bin.

"How was I?" I ask, still lying on my back.

"Terrible," he answers casually before jumping up to retrieve my stick.  I sit up and narrow my eyes at him.

"Let me rephrase," I start, "How was I considering it's my first day training as a human against a vampire who has probably been doing this for centuries?"  He tilts his head slightly, considering the question.

"Decent," he finally says, I roll my eyes.  He just grins.  "So can you find your way around yet or do you need an escort back to your room?"

"Um," I start, feeling my face go red again.  It's slightly embarrassing that I still don't know my way around.  I mean, I've only been here a day, but some independence would be nice.

"Oh, come on," he says sighing, but I can hear the amusement in his voice.  He heads out of the training room and I trail behind.  I'm too deep in thought to realize that he actually slowed his pace to where we're walking side by side.  "Want me to show you a trick so you know where you are?" he asks.  I jump slightly, when I see we're walking right next to each other.

"Uh, sure," I tell him.  He smiles.

"You see the floor tiles?" he asks, pointing towards the ground.  I drop my gaze and see the interesting diagonal lines with swirls at the corners and nod.  "You can use them as a compass, the corner with the infinity looking swirl always points in the direction of the residence hallway your room is in.  From there, you follow the portraits and find your room," he explains.  I nod, taking everything in when he suddenly stops in the middle of the hallway.

"What's wrong?" I ask, meeting his eyes.  He just smiles.

"It's your turn to find your way back," he tells me.  I widen my eyes and do a 360 scan of the entire hallway.

"You're kidding, right?" I ask.  He just shakes his head and motions me forward.  "Alright then," I mumble, looking down at the infinity symbol looking thing on the top left-hand corner of the tile and start walking forward.  After a few twists and turns, I'm surprised when I actually start seeing the portraits lining the wall.  "Wow," I say, impressed that I actually managed to find my way back.

"Congratulations," he tells me when I stop next to my door, which is still wide open.

"Thanks," I say, trailing a little.  "Why are you being nice to me?" I ask, still not believing that his fury at me from yesterday has disappeared so quickly.

"Well, Demetri seems to think you're pretty cool, and I guess you're not too bad... for a human," he says grinning.

"Gee, thanks," I say sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

"Anytime!" he retorts.

"So you and Demetri are friends?" I ask curiously.

"Best friends," he answers.

"Do you know if he found Derek and his gang yet?" I ask, getting a sharp pang in my stomach.

"Not sure," he says, "I'm sure someone will notify you if something happens."

"Alright," I tell him, grasping my stomach, "I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yeah," he tells me, looking down to where I'm holding my stomach, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, it must just be, uh... nerves," I choke out.

"Okay," he answers skeptically, turning to leave, "tomorrow."

I nod hastily, waiting until he's out of sight before b-lining it into the bathroom, managing to empty the contents of my stomach into the toilet.  When I'm done, I grab a small plastic cup and wash my mouth out with water, feeling completely disgusting.  After that, I decide to just take a shower, hoping the warm water will relax my muscles.  Upon getting out, I feel my now empty stomach starting to grumble and I sigh.  I consider going back to the kitchen, but I still feel a bit too lightheaded to eat. 

After some internal debate, I resolve to just call it quits for the day and go to bed.  Before falling into the depths of sleep I make plans to talk to either Aro, Marcus or Caius tomorrow about possibly training before eating.  I also try to keep thoughts of Derek out of my head, because I know thinking about him made a contribution to my uneasiness.  I just can't feel safe not knowing what he's up to.  He always told me that he, Justin and Rudy would follow me everywhere I go.  I desperately hope that's not the case this time.