FreshSqueezedLemons

Edwards POV

I took the hand I held and brought it to my lips. It was a beautiful September night in upstate New York. I snuck a peek at Teegan and smiled. We'd been close friends for a while, and started dating almost a year ago. I wondered at times if it was a mistake or if it would ruin our friendship; but for now it was fun. We both weren't overly serious people. I suppose our backgrounds had something to do with that.

Teegan was a lovely girl. She had curly black hair that just touched her shoulders, and dark eyes. She was half Quileute, a Native American tribe in Washington. Her mother had been killed in a car accident there when she was fifteen, and her father had turned into a drunk. She ended up running away from home, and we found each other at a restaurant one night. She had been waiting tables, and I was sulking into a book. We got to talking and became fast friends. I had admired how daring and brave she was. I, on the other hand was not.

I grew up in Dutchess County New York. It was a city like area, about an hour from New York City. My parents were great people, but I barely remembered them. I remembered their kindness, and their love for each other, but they had died when I was young, and I ended up being passed from relative to relative until I was eighteen. I had always wanted to run away, but the idea of being alone kept me from doing so. My parents left me with a good amount of money, but I didn't touch it. I wanted to make it on my own, I just didn't know as what; until Teegan that is.

She gave me my first camera, and then it was history. I took pictures of anything and everything. It consumed, and filled me. I was a photographer.

I took out the camera now and snapped a quick photo of Teegan as she laughed.

"Edward, come on we agreed no pictures today. We've been planning this hike forever." She said to me seriously.

"I can't help it. It's so nice here too; the trees are just starting to change color." I snapped another as Teegan jokingly started running to avoid getting in the shot. "You think I won't find you?" I laughed at her.

I took the picture out as it developed and was surprised when I saw a figure in the background. It looked like a man in a black cloak of some sort. "Teeg?" I called anxiously. I looked around and didn't see her. I started walking around calling her name, and stopped when I heard a short scream. I took off running in the direction it came from, and dimly felt a sharp pain on my head, before I sank to the ground.

I didn't know how long I had been out when I finally woke up. My head was still throbbing, and I couldn't move my arms. As I looked around I realized I was chained to a wall. The room was small; roughly the size of a jail cell, and Teegan wasn't with me. I struggled, though it was hopeless, and then stopped when I heard the jingle of keys.

I'd never seen someone who looked like the man before me. He was of medium height, and had this skin, like I'd never seen before. He was so pale, and almost looked like he had powder all over his face, neck and hands. The rest of him was covered in black, matching his straight black hair. The most intimidating part was the eyes. I had never seen red eyes before. It confused me. He also seemed happy, and excited; which added to the confusion. How sick was this guy?

I didn't say anything as he seemed to measure me up, the same I did to him. I couldn't take the way he stared at me; it was like he was interviewing me for a job. It made me uncomfortable. I finally found my voice. "Where am I? Where's Teegan?"

He smiled at me, making me want to snarl. "Usually they ask who we are, and why we are doing this. It's funny you ask simply where you are and where your mate is." He kept smiling at me. The way he spoke was so different. He had a slight accent that I couldn't place. "Teegan as you called her is a few cells to the right of you, and I assure you she is well, though I feel no need to speak with her. You are in Volterra, Italy, and my name is Aro."

I was shocked. Italy? I'd never been outside the U.S. Why was I here, and what game was he playing? "I guess the next question is who are you, and why am I here then right?" I asked him bitterly. His laugh fueled my anger.

"I knew I was right about you! There's such fire in your soul I can see it. I can't wait for us to set it free. Let's see which question to answer first. I'll start with me. I'm Aro, and I'm the head of the Volturi." He paused and seemed to consider what else to tell me. "Edward, I'm just going to be perfectly frank with you alright?"

I nodded, surprised at him using my name. He continued, as he leaned against the cell door. "I am a vampire."

I thought about laughing. I also thought I was crazy. Then the look he gave told me he was serious, and I wasn't to question him. I took in his pale skin, and the red eyes. Could it be possible?

"I see by your apprehension you are surprised, yet you do not seem frightened. This is curious. I'm going to go on, since you seem to understand me. As I said, I am the leader of the Volturi, which is the head of the vampires. My brothers Caius and Marcus assist me. We aren't like the vampires you might have read about. We can go into the sunlight, and we can't be killed with a stake. We also don't sleep. What marks us for what we are is our speed, strength and eyes. As you can see mine are red, for I feed on humans."

He stopped then, and I knew this was to gage my fear. The odd thing was I wasn't scared. I believed him, and I was just confused on why I was here. If it was my blood he wanted he would have taken it already. He watched as I thought this over, and I remained quiet. He went on.

"I've been around for many centuries, and I have many other vampires working for me. One of which saw you. She can see the future you see, and she saw you. It kept me interested; because she saw you as one of us, and you were with….well the rest doesn't matter. So I sent Felix to retrieve you and the girl, and here we are."

I sat trying to process all the information. "The girl is Teegan, and why do you need her if it's me you want to change, let her go."

"I'm afraid we can't do that. It's hard for me to explain to you now." He seemed to think something over and then walked to where I was chained, and touched me hand. I tried to twist it away, but he grabbed it in a flash. He closed his eyes and seemed to concentrate. After a minute he released my hand with a laugh. I looked at him warily. "Yes I think you will turn out perfect."

It all happened so fast. I know everyone has always described dying as slow. They say your life flashes before your eyes. Mine didn't, there was just fear, and shock as Aro dipped his head to my chained wrists and bit each one. He was out of the cell after that before I could even blink and all I felt was pain. It was heat and fire all over my body, and deep within my bones. All I could feel was the burning, all I could think about was how I wished the burning would stop. My heartbeat had gone from slow to fast and getting faster.

It took days to die. Though the strike of the bites were fast, my actually death took three days. Then my heart slowed. It should have scared me yet it was a relief. If my heart stopped I would die. The burning would stop and so would my guilt for not getting Teegan out of this odd situation.

The slowed heart beats became far apart and then suddenly stopped. My heart stopped, the burning stopped, I was elated.

That is, until I opened my eyes.