Chapter 2: Fleeting Joy

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Twilight, and I must say I'm glad I don't because if I had dreamed up the idea for sparkly vampires, I would have had to jump off a cliff. Though I must say, I would love to have the whole cast of the Volturi and play around with them. Wouldn't that be fun?

Alec Volturi

Jane was throwing another tantrum in her room. I could hear her smashing her couch against the wall, screams of rage punctuating every crash. I threw aside the paint brush I was working with and sprinted for her private wing. What grievance had occurred now?

Jane was too busy destroying her mirror, grinding each piece of glass into dust to notice I was at her door. I slowly took in the damage. Crimson lace curtains shredded all over the floor, bed in smithereens, feathers spilled out of a mattress. Glass was everywhere, originating from the mirror, the one tinted window and the trinkets she liked to collect. The porcelain dolls Jane coveted had had their faces obliterated. Even the stone walls had not escaped her anger, fist sized holes were scattered on the northeast one. I stepped forward, my boot crunching into a shard of the mirror. Immediately, Jane whirled around and glared at me, trying to torture me for intruding on her territory.

It is quite fortunate neither of us can work our devil's magic effectively on the other. Jane's power made me flinch in discomfort, but it was nothing like the fire that poured through other people's veins. And my power only made Jane languid, it did not make her drop to the floor as though dead.

The harsh lines of anger on Jane's angelic face softened as soon as she saw it was me. She came over and wrapped her arms around my waist and buried her head against my shoulder, apologizing for my pain. I rocked her, murmuring softly, "Janie, whatever is the matter? Please tell your brother who or what it was that has offended you, and he shall stop at nothing to avenge your pride."

Jane shook her head, her short cropped hair swishing against my cheek, "'Tis nothing but my own frustration, Brother. I am simply feeling trapped and restless. I want something…something….oh, I don't know!"

"Aro would do anything to please you, ask him for a mission. Or we can go practice your talent in the bowels of our castle, where the traitors that may prove useful yet are kept."

My sister sighed and shook her head again, more vigorously this time, "I am bored of those things, brother. And not only that. I have seen all the world has to offer, all the darkness and despair it holds, and I am weary. I am sick of my rage. I am sick of me."

"Ah, never say that," I stoked her hair, "You cannot help the way you are, just as I cannot help the way I am. Fear not sister, whatever you do, I shall stand beside you."

"That means more to me than you will ever know," Jane kissed me on the cheek and pulled away, looking mournfully at the damaged dolls, "Ah, how I wish my temper would not best me sometimes."

I chuckled and took her hand, "If you curbed your attitude, you wouldn't be my Jane."

Her face lit up in the smile, one of those rare beautiful ones she saved just for me, "True. Now will you come with me to Aro and ask for a mission? Restlessness has sank its claws within me again, I cannot sit still." I nodded and started to walk with her.

"Sister, truly, what is on your mind?"

"Hm…one of the prisoners gave me lip is all. They told me in the softest tone my life is meaningless, that I have lost my soul, and aren't I tired from feeling hatred all the time? I have killed the cheeky one, but his words strike a strange chord. What is queer is the way he spoke the words…it was like he felt sorry for me, like I deserved pity! The insolence! Strange, but it seems as though he spoke the truth. I feel so tired now, nothing interests me like it should." Her face became melancholy and she gripped my fingers tighter.

I felt bad, for it was true. My sister and I had long lost interest in anything outside of violence and danger, and both of those were fast in relinquishing their thrill. I sighed. But still, I loved the Volturi I truly did.

Didn't I? Or was this Chelsea's work? It couldn't be, I dismissed the thought, Chelsea was our friend. She'd never manipulate us. She wasn't even there when we were saved by Aro all those years ago, meaning we joined the Volturi of our own free will. I tossed these doubts away, they had no place in my mind. One touch and Aro would know all.

We came upon the regal throne room, our three masters in their golden chairs atop the marble podium. Aro rose to greet us, kissing Jane on the hand and touching my cheek. His expression became crestfallen as soon as he turned back to cup my sister's face to confirm her thoughts.

"Oh Jane, I cannot endanger the either of you. I have no news from across the ocean. What if the newborn Bella Cullen has formed an alliance with some tribe and is waiting to ambush the two of you? And how could I spare the both of you and leave Volturi without its finest guard members? No, no, you are needed here, and that is my final word."

oooOOOooo

Jane was not with me, and that in itself was a rare occurence. We were almost always together.

Aro wanted her in the dungeons, he wanted everyone to fear the Volturi. She had the job of randomly selecting a prisoner each day and torturing him near into madness. That way people would fear her. And she enjoyed this job, or at least she used to. Mindless violence did not offer her a way to smother the pains inside her soul anymore. She couldn't torture others to escape from her own agonies. She was now very, very unsure of herself. Bella Cullen with her thrice damned talent had stripped her of her former confidence.

People thought Jane was sadistic and cruel. They sneered at the closeness she and Aro shared, certain that she must be his child mistress. They were halfway right on both counts. Jane was cruel, she used her cruelty as a way to ignore the turmoil of emotions she could never release. By being so untouchable, she could keep people away and not get hurt when they turned on her and called her a freak and a monster. She revered Aro because he was the one who had given the two of us a second chance to make things to be as they should. He was our savior. If he didn't love us, then we were truly alone in the world.

And that was a scary thing for the both of us.

oooOOOooo

I spent the rest of the night pondering Aro's words. How he would lose his finest guard members. Of course the Volturi could not afford that, but...I worried for Jane.

Every since the Cullen defeat, Jane had become somewhat bipolar. Little things set her off, made her insane. She was much more susceptible to emotions than before, they bounced around in her chest, making her cry out with the effort of keeping them locked up. Jane blamed Bella Cullen for this, but in reality, the Cullens had just been the catalyst. We'd always been feeling unfulfilled.

Perhaps, it was time to move on.

No! We couldn't do that! We owed everything to the Volturi. They gave us life, love and affection. They showed us how to live again. I would to anything to please my Masters. They were my everything.

Weren't they? If they weren't, why did I feel such a strong attraction to them?

I remembered a time, two centuries ago, when Jane and I had also been feeling restless. But suddenly, we'd settled down again. Why? Why hadn't we just gone away, it wasn't like anyone could have stopped us if we really wanted to go….

Chelsea. Chelsea had just happen to arrive two centuries ago.

I gasped with the realization, and then shuddered. No…Chelsea…she was our friend. Friends don't manipulate each other.

Another wave of trembles crashed into me. If Chelsea wasn't my friend, then the rest of the guard couldn't be my friend either. They couldn't be because…because…

They were just following Aro's orders to not allow us to our own devices.

Rage as terrible as my sister's poisoned me from within. I would go find Jane and together we would confront the rest of the Volturi. Because we would allow no one, not even Aro, could take away our free will.

But what if I was wrong? I recoiled from the thought. No, I had to be wrong. Aro wouldn't do that to us. He wouldn't betray us. He collected other vampires like gruesome trophies of war, but not us. He saved us from being burned to death. That had to count for something.

He wouldn't have just saved us for our powers. Surely, something about us compelled him to save us. Aro wasn't heartless. He was compassionate.

Besides, even if we did break free of the Volturi, where would we go? Into a world that hates us and wishes we were obliterated from this life?

Hated by all, loved by none or few…

I closed my eyes and tried to rid myself of all thought, something I was starting to do more and more these days.

So will Alec and Jane break free of their bonds to the Volturi? Well, you'll just have to wait for the fourth installment of I Have Fallen so Far, won't you? Bye for now!

Want to see a pic of Alec burning at stake? Go to my profile page and check out the link at the top. I'm going to be drawing a lot of Alec/Jane pictures from now on, I'm currently coloring a picture of Jane and Alec as Alice and the Mad Hatter in Wonderland.