Twilight: Darling of Volturi (YURI/GL)

Jane reached the library far sooner than Sophie had expected.

The moment Sophie pushed open the stone door earlier that night and ran straight into Caius and his entourage, she had already realized her grand escape plan had failed. Being dragged back by Jane was only a matter of time. Yet by the time Sophie had nearly finished reading through two centuries’ worth of archived records, a commotion suddenly erupted outside the library doors. Raised voices echoed through the corridor, followed by the unmistakable sounds of a confrontation.

The heavy doors, which had remained shut for most of the evening, burst open without warning. The blonde girl stormed inside, visibly furious. A Volturi guard collapsed just beyond the threshold, groaning quietly as he struggled against the agony of Jane’s burning gift. The outcome of the conflict was obvious. Jane had won.

”Master Marcus, my apologies for disturbing you tonight.” Even as she spoke those courteous words, Jane strode around the long table toward Sophie without slowing down, sparing Marcus only the briefest bow of respect. The apology itself sounded completely insincere. Her tone carried nothing but absolute confidence, as though she believed she had every right to interrupt whatever was happening.

”Sophie, the clothes and shoes I specially commissioned for you arrived tonight.” Jane’s anger had become almost tangible. Every step she took stirred the air like a violent gust, sending loose pages fluttering across the tabletop. Her voice grew colder with every word. ”When I brought them to your room, guess what I found? You have disappeared.”

The murderous edge in her expression deepened. She kicked aside a nearby stool with deliberate force, letting the crash echo through the library before grabbing Sophie firmly by the wrist, clearly intending to drag her away immediately.

The moment Jane had discovered Sophie missing from her room, she had been thrown back to the terrifying night Charles infiltrated the palace. But Charles could never return from the dead. Jane had personally watched Sophie twist his head off before burning his body to ashes.

Everything inside Volterra had proceeded normally tonight. After Chino left the Volturi, the Guard had reorganized their patrols and security rotations. The new system had already settled into place without issue. That meant there was only one possible explanation. The girl had run away on her own.

For a brief moment, Jane simply couldn’t accept that reality. Ever since Fabio had begun sealing Sophie’s memories every single day, numerous side effects had gradually appeared. Even so, Sophie had always seemed genuinely fond of her room. So why would she suddenly flee? Has her memory deteriorated even further?

If that were true, Jane would have to reconsider how frequently Fabio used his gift. Her only goal had been to preserve their current relationship long enough for Sophie to quietly survive her newborn period before leaving Italy. If the process killed her instead, the price would have been far too great.

Fortunately, every exit leading outside the palace was guarded. That fact had eased Jane’s anxiety somewhat. At least she knew with certainty, Sophie was still somewhere inside Palazzo dei Priori. Without alarming the leaders, Jane had practically turned the entire palace upside down searching for her.

In the end, who could have guessed the runaway had hidden herself beside the one no one ever bothered disturbing. Marcus.

Known throughout the Volturi as little more than a walking corpse, Marcus possessed the weakest presence among the three leaders. Usually it was Aro and Caius arguing so fiercely that the palace nearly shook, until Marcus quietly uttered a single sentence. ”Enough.”

Every trio needed someone who smoothed things over. Jane had never paid much attention to that role. The instant she learned Sophie was here, she charged straight into the library. The guard assigned to protect Marcus hadn’t even managed to announce her arrival before becoming the unfortunate outlet for Jane’s fury, collapsing under the torment of her burning gift.

She had made all this noise, venting an entire night’s worth of bottled-up frustration. Yet the girl she had spent the entire evening searching for remained seated calmly beside the long table, expressionless as ever, leisurely turning another fragile page as though those dusty records were the most captivating things in existence.

Jane gripped Sophie’s wrist and tried to pull her away. The girl didn’t move. The silent newborn resisted with stubborn determination. Neither spoke another word. Instead, they locked themselves into a silent contest of strength. It was never a fair contest. From beginning to end, victory belonged entirely to Sophie. The extraordinary physical strength granted by the newborn stage made Jane’s forceful tugging feel little more than someone idly scratching at her arm.

”Don’t be childish, Jane. I’m busy with something important.” Without the slightest hurry, Sophie finished reading another file before gently brushing Jane’s hand away from her wrist.

The blonde girl standing before her looked no older than sixteen, overflowing with adolescent pride and stubbornness. Even though Jane tried hard to appear mature, and even though she clearly held tremendous authority within the Guard, Sophie instinctively regarded herself as the older adult. Sometimes children simply need to be reminded. When grown-ups were busy doing important work, they shouldn’t be interrupted.

That single sentence actually made Jane laugh. ”Oh?” ”Congratulations. So you’ve finally found something important to do.” Her red eyes drifted toward the documents spread across the table before she sneered, ”Since when has researching werewolves become an important duty for a vampire? What is it? Are you hoping to inherit Caius’ glorious mission of exterminating every last werewolf?”

Outside the doorway, the butterfly-like female guard had returned and was helping the fallen guard to his feet. The two of them quietly stood there, choosing to watch rather than interfere.

By now Sophie had become genuinely fascinated with the Children of the Moon and had no intention of stopping. She calmly opened yet another volume. ”According to nearly two hundred years of records, I’ve reached a conclusion. Caius already wiped every one of them out. What a shame. I really wanted to see what werewolves looked like.”

Jane immediately shot back, ”You truly possess an extraordinary talent for getting yourself killed.” Sophie smiled faintly. ”I prefer to call it courage.”

Marcus finally exercised his well-practiced talent for mediation. ”Jane, if Sophie willingly chooses to leave with you, then the two of you are naturally free to do whatever you wish. But if she doesn’t, why not simply allow her to finish what she’s doing first?” He glanced toward the documents. ”This is work assigned personally by Aro.”

The instant Aro’s name was mentioned, Jane fell silent. Completing Aro’s assignments unquestionably took priority above everything else.

Sophie immediately made her own position clear. ”I don’t want to leave.”