SOMEWHERE ONLY WE KNOW ➻ DEMETRI VOLTURI

D I E C I

Training her gift and trying to figure out what her limits were was a prospect that excited Cecilia before it actually started. Now, almost a week later, her opinion on the matter had changed completely. Not only was Aro relentless, something she had expected, he barely let her spend time outside of the training room. She had probably seen Demetri for a grande total of ten hours the last week.

But, she had to admit that Aro's training was effective. His mind worked in ways Cecilia would never begin to understand and it offered interesting perspectives on her new gift. Not only had he made her take several memories, he had also been working on the exact opposite of it, planting memories. Especially that last part was tricky, and it reminded her a lot of a movie she had watched with Edward and Emmett one time. Inception it was called, if she remembered correctly.

"Eleazar could tell us the exact mechanisms and limits to my gift," Cecilia huffed out. For the past six hours, she'd been trying to plant the idea that the sky was purple in the head of some lower-tier guard member. She didn't even know her name, but the dark-haired woman looked just as unpleased to be there as she did. "Maybe I can't do this."

"Nonsense, it's the two sides of the same coin," Aro said, chuckling like a happy child. His milky eyes shifted from the guard to Cecilia, clapping his hands together. "Besides, I want to keep you a secret from the rest of the world. Did you tell your family about it?"

Now that she didn't have a beating heart, it was a lot easier to lie. "No, I haven't had the time," she said. "Alice might have seen in one of her visions, though."

"The visions, yes, of course," Aro said, as if he was only just remembering them. With his hand, he waved in the direction of the guard. "Try again, my beloved Cecilia, try to envision it."

Resisting the urge to grumble, Cecilia put her mind to the task. She really wanted to spend some time with her soulmate, but even if Aro decided to give her some time off, it wouldn't matter. He had sent Demetri on a mission with Felix, Jane and Alec to Albania, hundreds of miles away from her. While he was off killing some conspicuous coven, she was trying to make someone believe the sky was purple. It felt ridiculous.

"I can't," she muttered, taking a step back. The whole thing gave her a headache.

"Alright, don't worry about it, my dear," Aro said, but she could see the disappointment on his face. "Let's try something different. Make Vanessa forget she's in Volterra."

That was a task she now managed to complete within mere seconds. Vanessa looked around her with a confused expression on her face, a sign that Cecilia had succeeded.

"Now make her forget she's a member of the Volturi."

Vanessa was not only a lower-tier guard, but she hadn't been turned for a very long time either. It made her an easy person to manipulate, because the ties between her and the memories Cecilia was trying to take weren't as strong. A couple of seconds passed and the look of bewilderment on the other's vampire face increased.

"Make her forget she's one of us."

Cecilia had no idea what Aro's plan was, but she followed his orders nevertheless. It hadn't taken them long to figure out that it was easier for her to make her victim forget things she'd been a part of or could imagine. All she had to do now, was focus on Vanessa's appearance and the things that made her the supernatural creature she was, before storing it somewhere deep in her mind.

"What's happening?" Vanessa asked, looking at her reflecting skin with a look of horror. As if she'd really been transformed back, she started breathing and slumped her shoulders. Cecilia felt bad not only for the girl, but also for the fact that she was fascinated with the power of her own gift.