When life turns into a menacing and magical horror movie, all you can do is accept it; there's no other alternative.
The arrival of Jane and Heidi gave Katherine a brief respite. Sulpicia led Katherine as gracefully as a ballerina through the gloomy palace corridors. Katherine followed her, trying her best to control her steps so as not to be so fast that she would bump into the wall in front.
It wasn't that she was afraid of pain, for she knew she wouldn't feel it. Making a fool of herself was secondary. What she was worried about was the bill that seemed to have invisible increments and was growing as imposing as the Angel Falls. The feeling of being burdened with a large amount of inexplicable debts related to the Volturi made her very uneasy.
She felt that there were only two possible outcomes for her if she stayed in the Volturi. Either she would be strangled to death by Caius or be scared to death by the Volturi's bills.
Noticing Katherine's abnormal stiffness, Sulpicia took the initiative to hold her hand more firmly, and her smile was so soft: "Cassie, you don't have to be so reserved. You can treat this place as your home and be natural. Really, trust me."
Treat the Volturi as home?! This was even more terrifying than being torn into pieces!
Katherine forcibly suppressed the instinctive shrinking back brought about by her words, feeling that her fragile nerves were being ravaged once again, while Sulpicia continued speaking merrily: "Don't worry. We'll be very happy together. You don't even know how long we've been waiting for you. You're so late. Fortunately, we have abundant time, very abundant time."
Katherine thought it necessary to interrupt. What had she just heard? Waiting for her? Living together? This was too dreadful!
"Wait a moment." Katherine said with some difficulty, pulling Sulpicia, who was walking cheerfully forward. "What do you mean by you've been waiting for me for a long time?"
The beautiful blonde woman turned to look at her, slightly surprised: "Didn't Caius tell you?" Looking at Katherine's bewildered expression, she seemed to guess something and said, "Oh, I should have known that guy wouldn't tell you properly. He never talks properly, and he has a bad temper. Often, even the guards don't dare to approach him."
This evaluation was rather accurate. Katherine thought to herself, and thus Caius's image in her mind became even gloomier.
"But since he didn't say it, I'm not really supposed to tell you either. It's better for Caius to tell you this in person." Sulpicia gave a naughty smile. "I believe that day will come soon."
Katherine felt that she was surprisingly unsuccessful in finding topics. Was it a problem with her comprehension or her Italian? Why could she understand the individual words when heard separately, but not when they were combined?
Moreover, she felt that if it was really as Sulpicia said, then she hoped that day would never come. Could you expect a guy who bit your neck as soon as you met to have anything nice to say?
She hadn't forgotten the bloody impression the Volturi had left on her before. Although she wasn't good at handling others' kindness, she could of course see that this kindness was purpose - driven. The tone in which they spoke had an exasperating sense of presumption, presuming that you were already one of the Volturi, leaving no room for you to resist.
Katherine didn't want to get too complicatedly involved with the Volturi at all. Besides, everyone's attitude here made her restless. Especially Caius and Sulpicia. She would rather be locked back in that damp and gloomy dark room. At least then she wouldn't be overly noticed.
Finally, she had to leave here. There was no doubt about it. She knew that newborn vampires were much stronger than ordinary vampires, but they were also more prone to losing control. However, Katherine didn't want to give up. Because the period before the power of a newborn vampire declined and stabilized was her only chance to escape. When her power no longer changed, she would truly be at a dead end.
However, that required patience. It was already good enough that she now expected to be able to walk properly. She also wondered how long Aro and the others had spent to have such perfect manners. This age - related question made Katherine shudder. She didn't dare to think about how many years those exquisitely beautiful faces that even time seemed reluctant to mar had existed.
All the way, Sulpicia was holding Katherine and talking about everything related to the Volturi, their justice, their tolerance, and the times they had spent together.
Katherine felt as if she were back in Windsor. Compared with everyone else, she seemed so out of place. She was like an item that had been misplaced, feeling uncomfortable from head to toe. She wanted to leave the Volturi even more than she had wanted to leave Windsor.
Back in Windsor, at least no one had paid so much attention to her. Now, the Volturi was the opposite extreme. Compared with being ignored, being overly cared for made Katherine want to run away more. At least if she was ignored, she could do whatever she wanted, be free.
From Windsor to the Volturi, she hated all castles and palaces!
"Cassie? What are you thinking about, dear?" Sulpicia's gentle voice pulled Katherine's thoughts, which had already drifted back to the south of the Thames River, back. She looked up blankly, and after meeting the other's smiling eyes, she unconsciously bit her lip: "Nothing. I'm just looking around."
Katherine thought this was a good enough reason. There were arched structures from ten centuries ago, various smoothly and elaborately carved furniture, and Tuscan - style rural landscape paintings with wonderful brushstrokes and vivid colors. Although under the eyes of a vampire, those paintings that still seemed vibrant had been eroded at the bottom layer. The extremely fine stone surface particles were prominent on the paintings, and in some places, the colors were not as bright, showing the undercolor in patches.
Sulpicia said gently: "You'll have unlimited time to appreciate them."
Katherine's stomach cramped again, and she quickly withdrew her gaze.
"Come and sit." Sulpicia pushed open the large dark - brown diamond - carved door in front. Katherine saw clearly that this was the garden where she had escaped. The difference was that today there was a large parasol set up here, and there was also a wooden table and several delicate chairs of the same wood.
The grain of the wooden furniture was very clear and beautiful. However, these grains were not regular, but showed some patterns similar to fox heads or old men's heads. She knew this was precious rosewood furniture, with a light and delicate fragrance, one of the world's top - grade woods.
She had handled a homicide case caused by rosewood and had a relatively deep impression of this wood.
It looked like there was going to be a ladies' tea party that was popular in the last century. Of course, Katherine didn't believe that the cups would be used to hold tea.
She subconsciously glanced in the direction where she had broken through the wall. As expected, there were no cracks, perfect, as if it had never been broken.
"Would you like some dessert?" Sulpicia asked. "I see that you've been very tense. Maybe dessert can make you relax?"
Vampires and dessert?
Katherine subconsciously shook her head and said rather dryly: "No, I'm fine."
"Okay. By the way, why are you dressed like this when you came out?" She started to have ideas about the robe on Katherine. "This dress doesn't suit you at all. How could Heidi pick this for you?"
"I chose to wear this myself." Katherine quickly replied, trying to shift Sulpicia's attention away from herself. "You said just now that the Volturi's law is that there must be no wanton killing in broad daylight and no exposure of one's identity in front of humans. Right?"
"Yes."
"Why? Humans are no match for vampires at all."
The smile on Sulpicia's face became much more illusory, as if she were recalling something from a long time ago: "Because once we are exposed, we will face unpredictable disasters."
"Disasters?"
"Yes. Although the threat from humans is still small, they are more united than us. They hold a lot of technology and weapons in their hands, which are an ineradicable threat to us. However, the Volturi has always respected science. We have our own way of life."
Katherine could understand. Although vampires had an extremely strong ability to regenerate, it still couldn't match the power of an atomic bomb. But then again, compared with humans, vampires were even smarter than humans, had much more time than humans, and had an immortal body. Why hadn't vampires created a more glorious civilization than humans?
For some reason, Katherine thought that perhaps it was because vampires had less threat to their survival, so they had no intention of engaging in science. They were already strong enough.
As Sulpicia was speaking, her expression suddenly changed. The usual gentleness disappeared in an instant, replaced by an almost intense hatred: "Of course, there's a more important reason. That is, humans are protected by those traitors and clowns."
Katherine was stunned: "Traitors and clowns?"
The other replied unhappily: "They call themselves vampire hunters. In fact, they are just a group of overconfident humans and those who dare not face themselves and use the corpses of their own kind to protect their pitifully fragile conscience!"
Sulpicia's speaking speed was very fast, as if just mentioning these people made her feel very dirty. Katherine carefully pondered the meaning of her words and found it a bit difficult to understand. Why did it seem that the race of vampire hunters was so complicated?
Before she could finish thinking, Sulpicia smiled again: "I almost forgot. You surely don't want to hear these, right?"
Katherine twitched the corners of her mouth and wisely shut up. This topic couldn't be discussed any further, even though Katherine was actually quite interested.
She was very curious about what kind of blow the group of people known as vampire hunters had dealt to the glory of the Volturi.
"The designer recommended by Gianna should be arriving this afternoon. Heidi will give them your measurements, and they will give you design drafts. You'll have the most suitable clothes for you." Sulpicia said as she raised her hand and gently touched Katherine's face. Her hand was very cold. "You're beautiful. Believe me. Caius will be very happy if you change your clothes."
Katherine became restless again. The hand gently stroking her face seemed even colder than her own body temperature. Moreover, the topic changed too quickly, and the content was too strange. She didn't know how to respond.
Why should Caius be happy? Was being bitten by him once make her his possession? Then he had too many possessions. There were probably many among the ghosts that escaped with her before.
Seeing Katherine tensing up and not speaking, Sulpicia smiled gently and winked at her: "What's the matter? Are you in a huff?"
Katherine felt her stomach ache more. She still didn't know how to respond, but if she remained silent all the time, she was afraid that Sulpicia's rich and terrifying imagination would make her say something that would make her wish she could be remade in a furnace.
So, she forced out an ambiguous sentence: "We just have different views. I can't accept human blood."
Sulpicia blinked in surprise and then said: "Very few newborns would actively avoid human blood. You are really different."
Katherine wanted to laugh dryly, but was afraid that she would make a sound no better than that of a duck on a rural farm, so she simply shut up and twitched the muscles on her face twice to indicate that she was smiling.
She added: "But the two of you can't keep going like this. Caius is so pitiful."
Katherine stared at her in disbelief, and the newborn's restlessness was on the verge of breaking out. Even the sunlight filtered by the thick parasol seemed unbearably bright to her: "What?"
What?! Caius was pitiful? Wasn't she pitiful for being inexplicably turned into a vampire, crawling through more sewers than in the past twenty - three years combined, and being bitten on the neck by that guy again for no reason?
Katherine tried to comfort herself. They were in cahoots... they were in cahoots... they were in cahoots...
"You really don't understand our kind, Cassie." Sulpicia sighed softly, and Katherine didn't even have the mood to twitch the muscles on her face twice.
After chatting for a long time, Sulpicia suddenly said: "Come with me. I'll take you to a place."
When passing through the foyer, they met Aro, Caius, and a few others who had returned. Sulpicia's eyes lit up, and she let go of Katherine and ran towards Aro. The two of them hugged and kissed each other.
Seeing that Katherine was hiding in the dark corridor and had no intention of coming over, Caius gritted his teeth slightly. His siren - like voice was suppressed and low, as sharp as a scythe approaching the neck: "Are you just going to stand there all the time, Katherine?"
Katherine really wanted to say yes, but she felt that honesty came at a price, especially when so many people were looking at you with an almost eerie smile.
She walked over slowly, and the impatient Caius pulled her over. The fragrance on his body was as cold as a blade, cutting into Katherine one by one.
"Was it smooth?" Sulpicia asked. Aro smiled and looked at her: "At least recently, yes."
Seeing that Caius had already pulled Katherine a certain distance away, Sulpicia said regretfully: "I was going to take Cassie to see our library. She really doesn't understand our kind at all."
Katherine saw that although her tone was regretful, she had a smile on her face, the kind that loved to stir up trouble.
"I'll take her there." Caius had a expressionless face, and he held Katherine's hand even more tightly.
But...
Katherine was on the verge of crying. But she really just wanted to be alone. Do all of you in the Volturi have a skin - hunger syndrome? Why do you always like to touch and pull others?!