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For the first five days of my life I had parents, from then on I was nothing but an orphaned child who needed somewhere to call home. This fact didn't bother me, but I would have liked to have had some more time with the people who would have loved me unconditionally.

During the first three years of my life I lived with my grandmother, who was old and frail by the time of my unexpected birth. Neither my mother or my father told her that they were expecting a child, let alone a child who would have led to the death of her own mother due to complications associated with childbirth. Even through the shock of her only daughter, she pushed on in order to keep me safe. While my memories of her had long since faded to near nothingness, I did remember the sound of her voice, a calming chant as she sang me lullabies before bedtime.

After my fourth birthday and my grandmother's funeral, I had gone off to live with one of my uncles, the second oldest son of said grandmother. With two young children of his own, my uncle had a hard time paying for all three of us. Living with my cousins made life hectic, myself not knowing how sibling or familial social hierarchies worked. I would have to wait until my seventh birthday to understand the great importance of a ruler and a knife when splitting your Halloween candy bar for dessert on the weekends.

It was at that 10th birthday march through our town that I realized how magnificent the Saint Marcus Day festival really was. Adorned with a red cloak of my own that my uncle had purchased for me as the first birthday gift I had gotten since my fourth birthday, my two cousins and I made our way out to see the beautiful seas of maroon that flooded the streets.

Ever since that day I made sure that during my birthday I came out of the shadows of poverty and shyness to meet the sunrise and sunsets of the festival. Ambrose and Astro, my two younger cousins, always made sure to join me in the festivities, causing trouble that only identical twins could.

Today would be my seventh Saint Marcus Day birthday. The skies of Volterra were a cloudy prismarine, sharply contrasting the carmine that roamed about on the ground.

"Come on, Stray, you have to come to the good parts of the festival," Astro beckons me to come forward and stay out of the shadows. "The light is pretty on your stupidly pale skin. Plus, vampires can't go in the sun. I wonder why that is."

"Vampires have been expelled, bro," Ambrose plopped down from one of the mossy trees in the park, "What are they gonna do? Bite us? I doubt if they were here they would expose themselves to a festival of people celebrating their demise and eradication from Volterra. That would just be suicide. I bet other vampires would find and kill them before they even got the chance. We're safe."

"Do you really think they could be here still?" I laugh at the obvious question.

"Astro, lesser twin, I doubt they ever left. Knowing how sneaky they must be, they have to be here somewhere," he laughed, "Wherever you are, vampy wampies, you can't get us. Don't risk the senseless exposure, immortal babies!"

Finishing taunting the non-existent bloodsuckers, my cousin grabbed my arm and pulled me into the crowd. Letting out a startled screech, I get pushed further and further into the crowd of people. Don't worry, Stray, this is good. You love the festival. God, you hate the people. Why do I have to be near so many people? This is how disease gets spread. Why do I have to be Italian?

"Shy already, dear cousin?" Ambrose snarks. My voice turns to an annoyed growl as my body flies through the mess of people shambling through the streets of our home city. "Seven years and you haven't gotten used to the people of the festival? The whole point of a festival is to have people, old hag!"

"Our big cousin still doesn't know the pleasure of human interaction," Astro yells through the crowd, his feet skipping to the sounds of the drums and hums of the orchestra running through. Humanity has not been the kindest to me, baby cousin, you know that.

"Fear will only get you so far, Astraea, for now just enjoy the music and let yourself feel the sun on your face. The fanged losers can't do that now that they have taken death by the reins and screwed that man royally," Ambrose's humor would forever be one of my favorite things about him. Finding humor in the smallest things, such a rare quality of human nature.

Tuning out the ludicrous ideas of vampires being in Volterra, I allow myself to do just as Ambrose told, sensing the sweltering sun on my pale face. Please don't let me get a sunburn. Not on my birthday. No sunburns on my birthday please. Oh, who am I kidding, I'll get burnt even if I ask whatever can hear people's thoughts to not give me one.

With no fears I pick up the pace, racing with my two cousins through the stunning crowd of citizens that gathered here every year from all over Italy.

The Saint Marcus Day festival was our only big event. Other than that, Volterra was nothing but a tourist location for Americans and other Europeans to gawk at the seaside while not spending too much money on hotels. On any other day, you could see people go into the clock tower. Many said the place was haunted, but I just thought some crazy cultists lived there, always wearing their black cloaks and only leaving during the nights.

"What do you think is in the clock tower? We haven't ever been there," Astro lets out a loud sigh at his brother's question. Weird people live there, Ambrose, really weird people. You don't want to be near weird people. Hell, they could be the damn vampires that you think still live here.

"Ooh, what if the vampires are in there," I say, laughing at the mere idea, "Hiding in plain sight would be the best bet for them, wouldn't it be? Think about it, scampering off during the night to do their vampire duties, nobody would notice because they're asleep. Do vampires sleep? I mean, if they don't age they must not have other functions that a human body would have. No sleep, no breathing, just sucking the life out of people."

Letting out chuckles of their own, my younger cousins helped me over a stone wall that would lead us to the back of the clock tower that had been here for at least five hundred years, engraved in the history of Volterra itself. The place held culture that only locals could truly understand. We all knew that mysteries lurked within and many even barred their children from going anywhere near the marble floors of the ancient building that held even older artifacts and paintings.

The clock tower of Volterra was a historical goldmine within itself, some of the walls original and the gold that lined the inside pure and withstanding even after all of these centuries of life. Death had plagued the walls at some point, but I hoped that it was an omen of death no longer, finding its own sense of harmony within the bustling seaside city.

Hurdling ourselves over those stone walls, my cousins and I found ourselves in a good place to sit down, close enough to the tower that we could see some of the intricate details in the framework of the building. Lined with hard stone pillars, the tower was one of the most beautiful places I had ever seen in my hometown, and I had been all over the city, finding myself exploring during my free time. What else was there to do while your guardians are at work? Quite literally nothing.

Cracking my knuckles, I pick up one of the twigs and start to fiddle with it, cracking the wood and throwing it on the ground. I had bored myself already, wishing for something more entertaining to do than ruining nature.

"What are we supposed to do now? It's too hot to be back at the parades and father told us we can't go into the clock tower," Astro whined, laying down on the concrete, rolling his eyes at my uncle's previous command. "We can't just camp it out here for the rest of the day."

"I guess we could break the rules and go into the clock tower," Ambrose suggested, "What's life without some risk anyways?"

"Safe," Astro retorts, "Father will kill us if he finds out we got this close, let alone inside of the damn thing. Unless you're willing to cover for us here, he's going to find out. You know Stray can't lie like the two of us."

"Lying isn't a good habit to have," I say with confidence, "The fact that you two lie to your father about where we have been is not something to be proud of or flaunt around senselessly. As the older cousin I must remind you that you are technically under my care while we are at this event."

"Just cause' you're an old hag doesn't mean that you can boss us around," I scowl at the remark, "You haven't ever done anything to stop us from lying to father either. You're no better than us, Stray. Admit it, you don't care that much."

"I do care, I'm just not a snitch."

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After about thirty minutes of sitting there in silence Ambrose stood up, having had enough of the deadbeat silence in our group that contrasted the loud parade we had come from and could still hear off in the distance.

"If we don't start to do something fun in the next five minutes I am going to lose it, you guys," I understood where he was coming from, the feelings of near insanity reaching me as well. Sitting and silence were two things that us Angelos' could not handle whatsoever, often finding ourselves screaming in order to evade the deafening quiet in a room. That was, of course, a last case scenario and had only happened on a few rare occasions of mental breakdowns that could not be avoided when you live in a crammed two bedroom house with five people living inside.

"God, let's just break father's stupid rule, I need some fun in my life. I'll take the fall for this one," Astro shook his head before getting up as well, stumbling a bit before finally gaining a hold on his stance. "I mean, it's not like he can find out if we lie about it. Don't worry, old hag, you won't have to lie to our old man. Leave the falsification to the experts."

Groaning at the idea of their lying lives, I decide that it would be best not to harass them further on their own integrity. If they wanted to be honest people, they would be. All I could do is tell them that it isn't okay and move on with my life, keeping them as safe as possible while they got themselves into trouble. It was the job of an older cousin indeed.

With the festival still going on in the background, we walked closer and closer to the clock tower, finding ourselves in one of the many dark alleyways of the city. We had been in these winding alleys so many times that I could safely say that I knew them all by heart, always being able to find my way out of one if need be.

Almost at the tower, I felt an eerie presence behind the three of us, almost tempting me to walk towards it. What is this pull? No, we can't go over there. Talking to strangers during a parade is stupid. Getting kidnapped would be the worst thing to happen to me since seventh grade science class.

"The hell is that?" Ambrose questions the two of us, puzzled by the temptation to go closer to whatever that shadow behind us was. "Get the hell away from us, you pedo, we're fucking kids and we cannot consent to whatever you want to do to us."

"Language," I reprimand, "Don't be rude. Sir, ma'am, we are going to have to ask you to leave us alone. We do not know who you are or what you want, but you seem to be heading away from the festivities."

"Stray, we don't have to be nice when some random person that looks like a shadow is sneaking up on us like we're some sort of prey. What the hell are you, some damn vampire? Go away, vampy boy, go in the sun and get slaughtered by the people you-" Now standing in front of us, I could see the man's red eyes.

Red eyes. Vampire. Oh god, he's really a vampire. We're going to die!

Giving my cousin a smirk, he grabs his arm and takes a bite out of it, causing Ambrose to let out a shriek of terror and likely pain as the man moves away from him.

"You vampire," Astro tries to grab Ambrose, but the vampire throws me into one of the walls before doing the same thing he did to his twin, biting his arm and leaving him. Left screaming, I watched in horror as my cousins painfully fell to the floor, clutching at their arms.

That vampire looked at me and smirked. "It will be fun to see what happens to you. Friends turning into the beasts that you so fear. What will you do, little girl? You wouldn't hurt your little twins, even if they turn into killing machines. Oh, how the Volturi will love to see them. To turn you or to not turn you, that really is the question of the century. Such beauty from a human, but I think letting them kill you will be the greatest show I have ever laid witness to. How they will rip you apart."

"Volturi," I remember, "The family inside of the clock tower."

"Smart little girl," he says, "What a shame that you will have to die."

Looking at my younger cousins, I choke out a half sob, not wanting to show weakness in front of the much stronger man. Scowling up at him one last time, I grab the arms of the identical twins and pull them away from the alley. The dark haired vampire laughed as I pulled their entire weight, almost dragging them along the dirty concrete floors.

Vampires are still here. They will know what to do. This is so stupid. I shouldn't be going into the tower potentially full of vampires! Damnit, vampire bite. A vampire bite means that they're turning! Other vampires would know what to do. Would they even help a human with turning cousins? Are there laws against the exposure of vampires to humans? We don't hear about them anymore. Just stay with me, you two idiots, I love you too much to lose you.

"Stray, it burns," Ambrose whined out.

"I know, I know, baby, we need to make it to the tower and then we'll be fine," I attempt to console the brown haired boy, but he chokes out a sob in response, tears streaming down his face from the unimaginable pain in his body. "Damnit, does work around here? I see guard-like people around sometimes but they must be inside. Can you pull yourselves inside or am I going to have to pull you guys?"

"Pull," Astro choked out, "Most definitely pull."

Nodding, I grip onto their wrists tighter, dragging them along the floor. We were lucky that we decided to take the back way in, or everyone from the festival would have seen them, bloody and with a vampire bite. It would have been anarchy in the streets.

Finally making our way into the doors, I hiss as Ambrose digs his nails into my flesh, causing some blood to pool around the wound. Shit, vampires and blood. They might smell me-us here. My blood could set them off into biting me as well. I don't want to turn into a vampire on my seventeenth birthday!

"What is the commotion?" A dark skinned man asks us, "Blood on both of you. You should be at the parades-"

"He's been bit. I know, okay, I know what you are and one of you bit my cousins," I try to explain, my voice quick and frantic, "Some red-eyed guy just comes up to us in an alleyway and bites the two of them. He didn't even try to kill them! He just bit them, threatened me, and let us leave."

"You came into a den of vampires knowing that you could be killed. Why?" he asks, checking the twin's wounds, "It is too late to take out the venom as it has already spread to most of their bloodstream. They will turn into immortals. I am sorry, child."

"I knew that you would know what to do with them. Vampires like yourself must stay together. Frankly I have no idea how to take care of a vampire, let alone two," I say, understanding now that this may be the last time I get to see the two of them. Hell, this might be my last day on the planet. "How long will it take for them to turn? Does it always hurt this much? What will you do about the other vampire?"

"Three days, yes, and we will conduct a trial. This is not normal, human woman, we do not go around turning people like this, especially on Saint Marcus Day," he looks up at me, his red eyes flashing with curiosity, "How did you find us? Humans are not supposed to know of our existence. It is against the law."

"He said Volturi, I put two and two together," the man lets out a chuckle, "It can't be that hard. Context clues are everywhere."

"Most are not good at context clues. It seems that we rely on human stupidity," the man ushers me deeper inside the building, "My masters will need to see you. This kind of exposure is not allowed at all. You may have a better chance at survival, human, as you sound like one of the locals of this ancient city. The kings are fond of them, often allowing the rules to slide for certain families. It is your best bet to mind your tongue and impress them or they'll-"

"Kill me, they'll kill me," the man sighs and nods.

"It's the way that it has to be. You either turn or you die, child, we must keep ourselves safe. If you know the history of this city you know that vampire on human relations are not and have never been civil. We are two species, often at war with one another, and coexistence has failed us many times."

"They say that you all left, Saint Marcus Day-"

"Is a scam, I know. One of our leaders was considered a saint because he chased away a bunch of rogue vampires once," I nod, "I should warn you that-"

"What in the actual hell is going on here," I heard somebody say. Cocking my head up, I could see a raven-haired man walking straight for us, a worried expression plastering his face. "Santiago, why is there blood? The smell is-"

Cutting himself off, he takes a good look at me, his eyes almost in a trance as he stops dead in his tracks, a small smile on his face. His expression caused the man, Santiago, to push me behind him as a way of protection.

"She's bleeding," He hisses, "Why is my mate bleeding?"

"I'm sorry, my cousins were grabbing onto me as I took them here-" I turn back to them, "They're turning. Some vampire bit them and mentioned the Volturi, so I came in here looking for some kind of guidance on what to do with them. I don't know how you all work, but please don't kill me yet."

"Kill you?" The man almost sounds pained as he quells over the idea, "No, we aren't going to kill you, my dear mate. Lord, we're in the middle of trial for today. Santiago, what is the status of the two cousins of my mate?"

"Unable to be saved. They passed out already. Where are we going to put them?" Santiago asks the tall man.

"Watch over their transformation in some spare chambers. I have to take my mate inside of the trial rooms. Make sure that nobody harms the two of them. This is most unfortunate," Santiago nods, picking the two boys up and taking them away. The tall man looks at me and smiles, his red eyes gazing into mine. "You have nothing to fear, diletto, just stay next to me. We have trials for the day, but I know that you need to be near me right now. I shall explain things later."

"Are you one of the leaders?" I ask, curious.

"Yes, I am the head leader of this coven of vampires. You were very brave to come here today. My condolences for your family's loss of their mortality. I suspect that the change was not voluntary," I shake my head, "We will find their sire and he will be promptly destroyed, I promise you. This act was a direct violation of our most sacred law. To turn someone like that and in front of a human like yourself, during Saint Marcus Day, could have risked the exposure of all of us if you had decided to scream vampire in front of the crowds."

"You have laws?"

"Of course we have laws, little one, as do all places everywhere, in most species. We take our laws very seriously. All rulebreakers will be punished and destroyed for their actions against us. It is the only way to both ensure our safety, but the safety of humanity as well. Come inside, my other mates will keep you safe during this trial."

The man of whom I did not know the name of opened the door, revealing a courtroom full of vampires. In the middle there were three people, one of which being a human.

What an eventful birthday this has been.

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