"Love for the Unloved" Contest Entry

Title: Jane

Your pen name(s): algonquinrt

Featured "B-list" Character(s): Jane

If you would like to see all the stories that are a part of this contest visit the "Love for the Unloved" C2 Community:

http:/www(DOT)fanfiction(DOT)net/community/Love_for_the_Unloved_Contest/72809/

The news moves through the castle like wildfire. A visitor. Uninvited.

Vampires do not come to Volterra uninvited. We request their presence. Coming here alone without being implored to do so could be suicide, especially with the humans converging for their ridiculous holiday. Still, it's not enough to stir me from my torpor. Every day is the same here. Feeding, or waiting to feed. Even the infrequent scouting missions or assignments to quell uprisings are the same, decade after decade, century after century. It isn't until my brother, my precious Alec, comes racing to my chambers that I stir.

"Have you heard, sister?"

I wave at him dismissively. "A visitor. A vampire."

"Not just any vampire, Jane. A Cullen."

He speeds off again in the direction of the throne room, where they'll undoubtedly receive him, and I find myself following, although at a far more stately pace. Carlisle and his odd little coven are ridiculous with their denial of what they are. Of what we all are. To deny our very nature is so outlandish as to be insane, if vampires can be insane. Rumor has it he even convinced one of the Southern vampires to change to his laughable existence: a vampire with centuries of war and bloodshed above and beyond normal feeding. Carlisle is a veritable cult leader. The Christians have nothing on his merry band of the bizarre.

As I near the throne room, I begin to make guesses of which Cullen it might be. Perhaps it was Carlisle himself, come to return to the fold, tired of preaching his lifestyle choices to the unwary. Maybe the Southern vampire has finally had enough of his charade. Imagine my surprise when I enter to see a vampire filthier than any nomad I've ever encountered. He appeared... despondent? Is that even possible? Even vampires who've lost their mates, like Marcus, manage to continue about their daily routine. Yet, as I hear him speaking to Aro, he's begging for us to end his life.

Who's ever heard of a suicidal vampire? I turn to Alec, nearly giddy with delight that today has finally broken the unending monotony, but Aro calls me to his side. I'll admit that I'm curious; this vampire seems in no condition to cause a threat, and I'm well aware that Aro never requires my counsel, only my protection. My gift is a weapon, and my position here is nothing more than that. Still, I move to his side, looking to him for direction until he gestures at the wraith before us.

It's only the depth of my experience—seeing everything I'd thought possible in the vampire world and not reacting to it—that aides me now. The boy in front of me, for he is a boy, is stunning under the detritus. Like all of us, he is pale, and it's obvious he hasn't fed in quite some time: his eyes are near-black and the purple circles under them look like bruises would, if he were human. His hair is matted and filthy, but you can see hints of an auburn color underneath, the likes of which I've never seen in all my years. I turn to Aro, my eyes questioning, and he takes my hand, facilitating our conversation.

"I want," is all I think.

Aro smiles, but the boy's face snaps up, glaring at me. I grin. There's some spirit left in him after all. Maybe he isn't quite as despondent as he thinks.

Curiously, he shakes his head as if he could read my mind, yet he doesn't touch me.

I turn back to Aro, who acknowledges my guess.

"Edward here has a talent somewhat similar to mine, but he doesn't require touch in order to use it."

If the boy thinks I'll hide my thoughts with this knowledge, he's wrong. I hear his story in the whispers of the surrounding guard; he fell in love with a human. A human! Now she's dead and he wishes to end his existence, joining her in death. It's clear he is confused; like me, turned too young to have understood adult relationships first. Unlike Marcus, however, he wasn't truly mated. Vampires mate for eternity. Humans don't have eternity. All he needs is a vampire mate to comprehend.

Aro dismisses him, telling him to return the next day for their answer. As he leaves the castle under Felix's watchful eyes, I give him a head start. I have a plan, and in the end, he'll change his mind about dying. He'll join the guard, as I know the brothers will offer him a place. With his talent, how can they not? I can make him stay with us, giving me a mate and Aro yet another jewel in his crown. I must not think it in case Aro touches me, but I wonder how much power we will have as a mated couple: my power combined with his mind-reading without touch...

We'll be invincible.

When Edward returns to the castle, I am ready. Aro has no need to call me to the throne room; I've been at his side for hours, careful not to let him touch me, but at the ready. I'm sure he thinks I'm wary of this Cullen, and wanting to protect him. The reality is that I know he'll be offering the Cullen—Edward—a place with the guard. I need to be there as a reminder of what he can have.

He arrives, and comes directly to us. His clothes are the same he wore yesterday, an outward sign of his believed surrender; he cares nothing for himself. My mind wanders to thoughts of bathing him, destroying the filthy rags he wears, and pulling the robes of the guard over his arms, his eyes the rich red of a fine Chianti.

His eyes snap to mine again, and I smile, tentatively, before he returns his gaze to the floor, waiting for his answer. He reads minds; why hasn't he realized that he'll be offered a place with us? Most vampires, other than idealistic Carlisle and love-struck Eleazar, would give anything for this opportunity. Surely a position with the guard is more tempting than suicide.

I'm barely listening as Aro makes his offer, hoping that he will allow me, or even Alec, to guide him to new quarters, and show him his place here. I look for my twin, and he moves toward me, our unspoken communication even stronger than that of Aro's.

As I wait to hear who shall be called to assist, I'm shocked when I see Edward shake his head, staring at the floor the entire time. Aro seems disappointed, and Caius angry. He couldn't possibly have declined, could he? He turns and leaves the room, and I gasp in shock, turning to Aro, the only brother who will answer me.

"Master?"

"He has declined, Jane.

"Felix? Demetri? I have no doubt he will attempt something tomorrow to force our hand. It is unlikely he will hunt within the city; his bonds with Carlisle reveal far too much devotion to his unusual diet. I expect you both to follow him tomorrow. Attempt to bring him back to us without harm, but if forces our hand, you will know what to do."

He will have us end him whether it's our choice or not. I cannot let this happen. I drift out of the room with the others, forcing myself to assume the same casual gait as the others. Alec, however, senses my tension, and follows me to my chambers. Once there, he engages me in the twin language we spoke as humans. It's the only thing we remember from our human life other than the fires, and most likely the final evidence that confirmed our sentence to the stakes.

Jane, what are you doing?

I'm going to follow him. He's confused. I can stop him. I can stop this.

You can hurt him.

I won't. Well, maybe a little. If I have to. You know I'm not strong like the others. To be trapped in this tiny body forever...

Sister, please...

I have to do this. I must do this. He cannot die, Alec. I've never felt...

That's what frightens me.

He helps me leave the castle, and I'm nearly invisible in the dark with my robe. I can follow his scent and I watch him, pacing, frantic, as he plans his actions. For the first time, I am ashamed of my power, wanting more, wishing I could know what he plans so I can save him.

I remain very still. I cannot fail.

I see him making his way down the alley. Felix and Demetri, oafs that they are, are still convinced Edward will make a grand gesture of violence.

I know better. He's defeated. Small, yet powerful.

In the alley is a family with two small children. I smell their sweet blood from where I hide, but he is obvious, taking slow, deliberate steps to the mouth of the alley. He does not plan to hunt, as Aro had predicted. Even above the noise of the crowd, my ears pick up the grind of the clock tower as the hands make their way to twelve o'clock.

Noon. Sunshine. He will expose us all.

I leave my alcove, cursing my small build. With humans present, I must move at a glacial pace. My short legs hinder me in following his much longer ones. I don't need much proximity to halt him, but I'll need to be able to get to him quickly and remove him before the Muscle Twins decide to follow their master's command without provocation.

My mind is racing with the possibilities. Once I save him, we can run. Our power doesn't need to be confined here, doing the Volturi bidding. We can make a life together, as nomads. Perhaps join the Romanians, who've spent centuries hoping for vampires of our power to join them in their plot to overthrow my masters.

I see his arms move to the buttons of his shirt as I all but run. He pulls the shirt from his arms, dropping it at his feet as he moves to take that one last step. I focus, not wanting to cause him pain, but needing to stop this, save him.

That's when I see her: a human girl with long chestnut hair running through the fountain. Toward the alley. Toward us.

She throws herself at him, screaming his name, and I move into the shadows. It is her: his human. It can only be her. He was mistaken. She is not dead. But she will be.

I wait for Felix and Demetri to make their move, knowing Edward will refuse them. Aro will be so pleased with our return. Not only do we bring Edward back alive, but also his precious, potentially-talented human and another talented Cullen. He will give me anything I ask for in return for such bounty.

Yet he cannot grant me the only thing I truly desire.

I watch the exchanges taking place, wanting to scream and tear my hair from its roots. Aro acts like a cat with a mouse, toying with them. My fury boils beneath my skin, waiting as he tests the human's potential. Even I can tell it must be a shield of some sort, but the Cullens are too wrapped up in their love of humanity and reluctance to change any human who isn't on its deathbed to notice. It can resist both types of mind-reading, but I'm positive it won't resist my power. I must wait. I cannot act out of turn.

Finally, finally, Aro allows me.

"I was wondering, my dear one, if Bella is immune to you."

I set my sights on the human, but Edward, in his savior mode, comes at me. I cannot refocus, and he bears the brunt of the pain I create.

I smile, for while I do not wish him harm, he knows now exactly what I can do. Surely he will bend under this. He will see how weak it makes his human pet when I refocus. I allow myself a single glance at it, and it is shrieking, now aware of the reason I command such respect in the guard. Even sheer brawn like Felix bends to my whim, knowing I can take out the strongest vampires with a single look.

I could control my masters, if I chose, and bided my time.

Still, when I am at last allowed to turn my attentions to the human, I'm frustrated. I cannot touch it. I have no affect on it, and I am frustrated, focusing every bit of my being into hurting it. Why couldn't it have stayed dead?

I hiss in anger at my failure, and again as Aro allows them to leave, relying on promises that the human will be changed. I want to scream at him to kill it, to allow me to feed from it, tearing at its neck, spilling the sweet blood that Edward refuses. La tua cantante! And yet he refrains.

Heidi brings in the latest herd of humans as they leave, and I can hear the Cullen pet's sobs as I race from the castle. There is no human here that I want.

I wait until sunset, until the light will no longer reveal my skin, and the shadows will hide my eyes. I make my way through the square, able to scan the faces of hundreds of revelers at a time, searching until I find him.

Finally, there he is. I spy his messy bronze hair even in the fading light, and his pale skin. With his tall, lanky frame, he towers over most of those in the square.

"Buona sera," I offer.

"Uh... my Italian isn't that great," he offers, one hand in his pocket, the other raking through his hair nervously.

"I said 'good evening,'" I reply. "You are here visiting?"

"Yes. I'm actually backpacking and a friend said he heard the partying here for St. Marcus Day was incredible, so I had to stop. He got a little too drunk last night and had to stay in the hotel today and miss all this. It's crazy!"

I smile.

"You live here?" he asked.

"Yes, I live and work in the castle itself, actually."

He gapes, struck dumb.

"Uh, how old are you exactly?"

I laugh flirtatiously, having watched humans do it time and again.

"I'm much older than I look. It's a curse now, but may serve me well when I'm older. Would you like to come for a private tour?"

"Really? That would be awesome!"

I allow him to take my hand, hoping he refrains from commenting at how much colder I am. Too enamored with my attentions and his upcoming "tour" he's about to have, he doesn't even notice.

The throne room has been cleaned after the others fed this afternoon, so I can take him there, as well as various other rooms on the usual "tour." Our last stop, naturally, is my room, and I pass Alec on my way.

"What are you doing?" he asks in the language only we understand.

I merely glare as I open my door, removing my robe and hanging it on a hook. I'm wearing a dress I took from Heidi. With a few alterations, it's every bit as skin tight on me as it was on her, albeit longer. I've managed to highlight my tiny breasts, trying not to be frustrated at my lack of curves, my change having taken place before puberty was complete.

He doesn't seem to mind.

He crosses to me, his mouth at my neck, his hands roaming my back and hips.

"What's your name?" he breathes.

"Jane."

I don't ask him his.

I close my eyes, running my fingers through his messy hair, reminding myself to be gentle, to not grab him with the fierceness I want. He brings his face to mine, but I cannot trust myself to kiss him. Instead, I run my tongue along his jaw, then his neck, burying my nose in the throbbing pulse I find there. Oh, so tempting.

"Wow," he pants. "You're amazing! It's like tingling..."

He trails off, lost in the sensations.

I want to tear his clothes off, but remember, nearly too late, that turning his clothes to dust is not seductive. Instead, I summon my patience and unbutton his shirt slowly, removing it from his arms with dainty movements before turning to his pants.

"You must work out; there's not a bit of fat on you. All hard muscle!"

I'm having trouble ignoring him when he speaks, so I hiss out a "ssshhhhh" with what I hope is a seductive instead of dismissive tone before shucking his pants. My hands, which I've been trying to warm against his back in alternating shifts with unfastening his clothes, reach into his boxers.

Yes, this is closer to what I had imagined. I feel him in my hands, hot, warm, pulsing...

He's stopped speaking, merely panting and groaning, and I can lose myself in this. I remove my own dress, pressing his hands against my breasts as I return my hands to his hair. I close my eyes, picturing his eyes red. I can see him crouched over the girl, her pale neck cocked at an unnatural angle, the tinge of her blood on his teeth and at the corners of his mouth.

Caught up in my vision, I lap at the corners of his mouth before pushing his head—gently, Jane—to my breasts. I imagine the lust of the hunt, chasing humans instead of feeding from the usual buffets brought by Heidi. We'd work as a team, trapping a human in an alley before feeding together and allowing our bodies to transfer the blood-lust so we are completely sated: blood and body.

I shove him back to the bed, knowing I should let him control this, but unable to wait. It's too much. The hunt, the blood...

I climb atop him, positioning myself and letting him sink inside. He hisses, and something reminds me it's the temperature. All I know is that he is too warm, too soft. I close my eyes again, trying to forget, forget...

I lost myself, my speed as I slide over him faster than any human could, and he gasps "What the...?" I touch myself, needing this to be done, to be over.

I move my hand over myself, faster, faster, a blur, and he yells. I feel him hot and sticky inside me as I scream "Edward... Edward... Edward..."

My head falls forward to his neck as he tries in vain to catch his breath. His heart beats so fast, begging me, and I cry out in frustration. There should be no thudding blood tempting me...

I bite, the hot, sweet blood gushing into my mouth. I'm messy, like a newborn, allowing it to spill down my chin. I remove my hands from its face, no longer needing to hold it still, and I catch the pooling blood in my hands, drinking until its dry.

I stand, licking my hands, and see the lifeless body with its vacant, staring eyes.

The wrong color.

They are a cloudy gray. Not amber or topaz or butterscotch or any of the colors that had run through my head trying to describe that foreign gold I'd seen in the throne room. Not burgundy or merlot or vermillion, or any of the colors I'd imagined by my side. Gray.

I growl in my frustration. Not the same. Never the same. How could he love something like this? No more than a meal. You cannot mate with a meal.

I reach for the hair, not the same. Not bronze. I tear the head from the shoulders and where there should be more pale marble there is pink muscle, pale from being bled dry. I shriek, angry, as I tear him apart.

This is how my twin finds me.

"Shh, Jane... shh..." he whispers, pulling my cloak from its hook and covering me. He places the parts in a small pile and adds the igniter we carry when we are sent on containment tasks. I watch the flash and smell the rancid scent, so unlike the sweet incense of a burning vampire.

"Shh, Jane," he repeats, and I realize I have been keening over this pile of broken boy.

Alec fetches a basin of water and a cloth, and cleans me gently, removing the blood that covers my face and chest and has dried in my hair. I hear Felix, and then Heidi, at my door, asking what the trouble is, then Alec's soft explanations: too hungry, too excited after our visitor, too anything but the real story.

He holds me for two nights and two days, crooning songs that sound familiar and yet alien. I'm not sure if they are from our human life, something he's learned from humans in the streets, or if he's making it up just for me.

"Alec?" I finally question. "Why?"

"We are different. We know this. There are so few young as we are. It will happen, Jane. All you need is patience. You forget that we have no need to hurry, no need to be greedy. All will come in time."

I know that he's right, and yet I want. I so want. All I need is him here and he'll know we are destined. He'll realize that there are no other vampires as we: held in this stasis of unreality, puberty frozen in time.

When Renata knocks softly and conveys the message that the brothers wish to see me, I'm already dressed, anticipating this. I walk to the throne room, entreating Alec to remain behind as I enter alone. I bow my head before Aro, apologizing for my lack of control.

"I'm sorry, Master. I have no idea what came over me."

He smiles benevolently.

"Not to worry, Jane. We can all be overcome by our desires from time to time. It can become difficult in this life, especially when we are denied the excitement of the hunt. It's natural to wish to create some of that for ourselves.

"Now, on another topic. Caius is concerned that I let the Cullens go and sent their human pet along with them. What is your opinion?"

I eye him warily. We are never asked our opinions of their decisions. Can this be a trick? I must think quickly before I can answer.

"I think, Master, that you may have found something we did not know about the Cullen coven. I think you had reason to send them back, something that would result in even more of a coup in the long run."

He laughs, gleeful.

"Jane! Such a smart child! If only we'd been able to allow you to come to full maturity, what a terror you would have been! Your mind... your talent! Yes, my dear; Carlisle has amassed even more talented vampires than I'd known. One more beautiful than Heidi. One with more strength than Felix. The mind-reader you saw here, and Alice, the clairvoyant. Yet one more: the vampire of the Southern Wars, who can manipulate emotions. Imagine adding them, and then adding the shield..."

My head shoots up at the mention of the human, changed. If he considers it his mate in human form, changing her will only cement it...

Aro smiles knowingly.

"He thinks he desires her, but it's her blood. Once her blood no longer sings to him, her allure will dissipate. The bond will be broken."

"Master Marcus?" I question.

"Marcus has seen that their relationship is intense. Naturally, it would be. A vampire keeping his singer next to him! I can only imagine the intensity of that, day after day!"

I flick my eyes to Marcus, who looks away.

"Then...?" I dare to ask.

"What do you suggest, my dear?"

My eyes narrow as I return my full attention to Aro.

"I think we watch, and wait. There will be an opportunity. Perhaps they refuse to change the human. Perhaps something else..."

His smile widens, and he claps his hands. "Exactly what I was thinking! I trust you are feeling better?"

I smile in return, grateful my lapse of control is forgiven.

Patience. All I need is patience. I can wait.

Thank you to MsKathy for the beta and the trailer for inspiration. ;)