The most intuitive manifestation of the changes brought about by time to a city lies in its urban layout.
Volterra has preserved its historical relics quite appropriately, as if a hundred years of time had come to a standstill on those magnificent and exquisite ancient buildings. In contrast, the outskirts of the city have changed very rapidly.
As many people travel to Florence, the City of Flowers, each year, Volterra probably receives about the same number of visitors. Besides the rich Gothic vampire culture and special festivals, the people here, of course, have to find ways to make this small town attractive both inside and out.
The interior retains the long-standing charm of the Middle Ages, while the exterior showcases a vibrant modern and trendy style. Volterra uses its unique contrast to shine even when adjacent to Florence.
Unfortunately, such rapid urban expansion has caused some troubles for certain individuals, such as Catherine and Miss Ella, with whom she had just exchanged names.
She didn't know where her home was - to be precise, the place that used to be her home was no longer recognizable as such.
Catherine's first reaction upon hearing this was that such large-scale urban migrations would surely be recorded by the police station. Unfortunately, since the two of them were now a vampire and a ghost respectively, neither of them could go there to inquire.
Fortunately, Ella still remembered that her father used to be a librarian at the National Library of Florence. So they immediately decided to take a chance at the National Library of Florence.
Hopefully, there would be books about vampires there. Catherine thought as she swiftly made her way through the woods beside the highway. Otherwise, she might be caught before she even had a chance to figure out the strengths and weaknesses of this new race she had joined.
She had already died once under mysterious circumstances. Catherine didn't want to be caught and killed by the Volturi again without knowing anything.
The closer she got to Florence, the more difficult it became for Catherine. She was extremely worried about Langdon, but her rational mind told her that she couldn't go to see him. Catherine herself hadn't completely escaped danger yet, and she couldn't bring the threat of the Volturi to Langdon's side.
At least, until she was certain that she had completely shaken off the pursuit of those terrifying and ancient vampires, she couldn't meet Langdon.
Thinking of this, Catherine suddenly had a thought that perhaps she would never see that gentle and elegant man again in her lifetime.
This thought jolted her, and the ensuing panic and distress caused her body, which was already struggling to adapt to such rapid movement, to lose its balance in an instant.
If she had been walking under normal circumstances, it might have been okay. But she was now a newborn who hadn't even adapted to her new body - Catherine now thought that it made sense for them to call vampires like her "newborns" - so, without a doubt, she tumbled towards the ground at a high speed.
Fortunately, the training she had received at the police academy still came in handy. Catherine's timely adjustment prevented her from making a too-ugly fall, and she hardly felt any pain.
She quickly glanced at her knees and palms. They were still as white and shiny as marble, without even the slightest scratch. It seemed that her condition was not bad, if one ignored the fact that her clothes were getting more and more tattered as she moved.
Although she hadn't suffered any physical injuries, the psychological blow was quite significant - she was now even like a child when it came to the simplest form of escape. Could she really escape from the Volturi? And then there was Langdon...
With such thoughts, the restlessness that had been subdued by the blood earlier crept back up her nerves again, nagging like an annoying beast.
"Catherine." Ella called her gently, "I know a shortcut to the library that's less populated. Come with me. Hopefully, the path still exists."
In fact, even if they didn't take this path, there wouldn't be too many people on the streets of Florence tonight. Everyone had gone to participate in the Vampire Festival in Volterra. Those who couldn't go also tried to stay at home, considering the serial murder cases that had recently left the whole city on edge.
Catherine really didn't understand such a contradiction. On one hand, there were wild rumors - well, not exactly rumors - that vampires were responsible for the killings, and on the other hand, so many people were going to participate in the Vampire Festival.
However, she didn't have the luxury of thinking about such philosophical questions about human nature at the moment, because the looks of the two passers-by she encountered told her that perhaps she really should get a change of clothes or at least something to cover herself up.
Catherine's eyes scanned the surroundings. Her upbringing and conscience made her abandon the idea of stealing or robbing, and then her logical mind dismissed the equally impossible thought of finding clothes to change into.
She sighed and quickened her pace, following Ella to the back door of the Florence Library. As usual, they would sneak in through the sewer and then emerge from any of the sewer exits in the library. Catherine pried open the manhole cover above her head while silently thanking the Medici family in her heart for their significant contributions to the sewers of Florence.
After entering the library, Catherine and Ella officially parted ways. After all, having a vampire, especially one with not much self-control, wandering around a library where people could show up at any moment was a very dangerous thing.
Catherine planned to find books related to vampires in the shortest possible time and then find a secluded place to study them carefully. Ella, on the other hand, went to look for her father.
The briefly accompanying companions went their separate ways, and the last one was about to leave too.
Catherine waved goodbye to Ella and sighed as she disappeared into the darkness of the safety passage.
You see, those who start out alone are doomed to be alone in the end.
...
The Florence Library is divided into different sections, each storing different types of books, and under normal procedures, a magnetic card is required to enter. After thinking for just a moment, Catherine decided to head to the green-card section, where all the ancient books and handwritten originals were kept.
Admittedly, there are numerous legends and books about vampires, and Catherine didn't doubt whether the library's collection could provide her with what she needed. However, in terms of academic rigor and authenticity, the older the books, the better, especially when the subject of study was such an ancient and mysterious species.
The door to the green-card section opened as Catherine waited quietly. She crouched down and quickly approached, then slipped in without making a sound. The pleasant scent of humans still lingered inside, but more prominent was the distinctive smell of ancient books.
This helped suppress Catherine's instincts, which were still uncontrollable.
She nimbly walked back and forth among these tall bookshelves, searching for the books she needed.
Back when she was studying at the police academy, Catherine had dreamed of coming here. This place housed the finest books that could be found throughout Italy, including, of course, the original manuscripts of Leonardo da Vinci that she had always coveted.
For her graduation thesis, Catherine had chosen to explore the significance of Leonardo da Vinci's research on human bones and techniques for today's forensic anatomy. However, when she excitedly arrived at the library with her ID card and police academy certificate, the librarian, after taking her letter of introduction, had just stared at her with his balding head - like a Mediterranean Sea - the whole time.
Catherine waited until the woolen carpet under her feet was almost worn out by the rubber soles of her canvas shoes. Only then did the librarian slowly look up, his small gray eyes sizing her up from behind his thick glasses, with a solemn expression.
Then, Catherine was rejected.
She couldn't believe it.
Although she knew that few people were allowed into the green-card section, she had even asked Langdon to write a letter of introduction and had it stamped by the police station, thinking that there would be no problem.
So when she heard the rejection, for a moment, she almost thought that she must have been so dazzled by that shiny bald head that she had misheard.
However, the truth was that she hadn't misheard.
And so, Catherine was forced to leave. She had even brought enough dry baguettes, planning to camp out in the library's lounge and book storage areas, but it was all in vain.
She walked back home in the rain. The bread in her bag absorbed the water, becoming swollen and heavy, and the letter of introduction and her calculation papers were a mess, like a defeated soldier.
But now, Catherine was walking so leisurely in this deserted green-card section that she didn't know what to feel. Although she had entered the section she had always dreamed of, the price seemed a bit too high...
She really wondered what the reaction of that annoying librarian would be if he knew that a person with complete paperwork, whom he had once rejected, was now strutting around in the green-card section without a care in the world. Perhaps his bald head would boil with anger.
Thinking like this, for the first time in her five-hour conscious life as a vampire, Catherine felt that it wasn't entirely unbearable.
However, this feeling soon bid her farewell. The moment she opened the vampire volume in her hand, she knew that she shouldn't have had such illusions.
This vampire volume was already quite old. The sloppy handwriting of the author tortured Catherine's eyes, which had been spoiled by Langdon's elegant Italian cursive writing. Not to mention that as soon as she opened the book, the fragile title page crumbled into many pieces in her hand.
Catherine's mind went blank for a few seconds, and then came a despair that was even deeper than despair! Were these ancient books really this fragile?
She suddenly found herself agreeing with that librarian.
Her hands holding the book trembled slightly, and she was on the verge of crying.
Any book in the green-card section was a priceless treasure. Catherine thought that the saying "misfortunes never come singly" was quite true. She was now homeless and in debt. For a moment, she even wondered why the Volturi hadn't come to put her out of her misery yet, so that she could at least pass out if she wanted to.
Oh well, she was already a person who had died once. Was she really afraid of being in debt?
Catherine was a bit self-destructive yet had to turn the pages of the book with the utmost care and gentleness. Well, she was really afraid.
She opened her eyes wide to decipher the text on the pages. Most of the book was written in Italian, but there were also many Latin annotations, and interpreting this language was far beyond Catherine's capabilities. So she tried her best to understand the content of the book:
It seemed that she had guessed correctly. Vampire venom could transform any living creature into a bloodthirsty species like themselves, not just humans.
These creatures were not afraid of sunlight, but sunlight would expose their identity. Catherine remembered how her skin had sparkled in the setting sun.
They were immortal. Even if torn into several pieces, they could recombine. Their only nemeses were fire, decapitation, and...
Catherine turned the page and saw a rather novel and terrifying term - vampire hunter.
The book didn't elaborate much on vampire hunters, and most of the content was in Latin. Catherine didn't stop there but continued reading.
In Catherine's mind now, vampire hunters were on the same level as the Volturi. If she saw them - well, preferably never - she should run immediately. That would be the right thing to do.
Unfortunately, there was no record of the Volturi in the books. Catherine was a bit disappointed. Not too long after, she closed the book and carefully put it back in its original place.
Alright, she now fully understood her situation - she had been transformed into a vampire by the Volturi for some unknown reasons, and now she was being hunted. Moreover, apart from Florence, Catherine had never been to any other place in Italy. Where to flee, and how to do it, were all unknowns.
Newborn vampires were still very unstable. Catherine's restlessness came easily, just like the hunger and appetite that couldn't be satisfied even after drinking the blood of an entire buck.
She jumped out of the window dejectedly, darted into the night like a black cat, skillfully pried open the sewer manhole cover, and retraced her steps to the place where she had entered.
She tried to comfort herself by thinking about what she would do if she had to choose between going back to Windsor and her current life.
Catherine suddenly and sadly realized that perhaps Windsor wasn't that bad after all. At least her life was safe there.
Good heavens, thinking like this made her even more desperate.
Frustrated, she pried open the manhole cover above her head, climbed out of the sewer, and then found herself facing a pair of feet wearing short leather boots, and... a trailing red cape?
She was stunned for a moment and then looked up along the other person's long and straight legs. Her gaze froze on the belt buckle at his waist - clearly engraved with the word "Volturi", and several strands of silver long hair as charming as moonlight were hanging quietly in front of the belt.
Suddenly, Catherine didn't dare to look up any further. Her whole body shuddered. No matter who the person was, she didn't think she could handle it. God knew that she almost burst into tears without caring about her appearance after seeing the mark on his waist.
"How are you adapting to your new body?" The owner of the red cape spoke, his voice as enchanting as a siren's song.
Not well at all!
Without a second thought, she let go of her hands and allowed herself to fall back into the sewer.
However, before she could land, she suddenly felt someone grab her clothes, and then came the sound of fabric tearing.
Catherine felt as if her heart was breaking too.
She hurriedly reached back to grab the other person's cold and hard hand, "My clothes!"
Demetri on the side let out a gloating laugh that made Catherine want to bite his neck off.
"The game is over, Catherine Windsor."
Catherine saw her executioner, that stunning silver-haired vampire who had inexplicably appeared in her mind several times. His slightly angry red eyes were as hard as rubies, yet seemed to have flames burning within, and his thin lips were bright red and poignant, so beautiful that it was hard to look away.
It's over.
This was Catherine's thought, and it was also her fate