Welcome to Gaia! ::

I had been staring out into the blue sky of my bedroom window. The sun had been shining very brightly, and the sound of birds had twittered in the air. ‘Hmm....another bad omen’ I had thought. The sun disgusted me as it does now. Although my skin had been slightly tanned, I hated the warmth and sunlight I still do. That didn't matter much that day though. A few days before then, I had just come of age, and became a woman, and my parents had finally found someone whom I could be married off to. Unfortunately, I had to stand outside all day at the party.

In the Italian Bronze Age, no one took women legitimately. We had been treated like slaves for men. The only thing what we had been good for was being married off and connecting two great families together. Mother and Father, who were of the first class, had already decided whom to give me to. As Mother always said, “It is for the good of the family, and the good of the Volturi name.” Of course, I was unhappy. But, despite that, I tried to hide my dislike and did my best to make everyone around me happy. I didn’t want anyone to hate me, even though I was a woman, I wanted to be more useful than that.

I lived in the palace, where Mother, Father, and I had spent our whole lives. The palace had been passed down, from generation to generation, in our family. It was in the middle of a small town of peasants and farmers. The small town was the only human settlement in the Tuscan Mountains. Our palace was a grand white castle that you can spot from a few acres away to even out of the town. In fact, I think was the only building in this whole town. Most of the peasants and farmers in that day and age had unified under a new culture known as Apennine. It’s recognized by its pastoral and agricultural settlements. All I ever saw was sheep and their shepherds out in the fields.

There was a great feast at the party. Both families, mine and my unknown fiancée’s, were there that day to celebrate the upcoming marriage. The palace had been decorated with white mountain lilies and other exotic flowers. Even the pillars were stripped of their usual décor, and had been decorated with white flowers. The party guests had walked through the big iron gates then crowded the little stone walkway of the palace. I’ve never seen so many people at the gates.

I was looking down on the guests, from my balcony, for I was still changing into an evening gown to wear. My sullen eyes had stared down on the people with much indifference. A fat, corpulent man was gulping down all the wine at the winery table. There were women in the crowd, gossiping with one another in their nasal, brittle voices. ‘Hmph,’ I had thought’ tramps’.

My wandering eyes had stopped to stare at a man standing by the iron gates. This man wore a long black cloak, and was, as if carefully, standing only in the shadow made by the palace walls. His skin looked pale white, and had great contrast between his garments. But that wasn’t what attracted my attention to him. He had the same exact face as my brother.

My body had frozen in shock.

Was it him? No, it couldn’t be. He went missing fifteen years ago. But as I continued to stare down at the man, he just looked so much like my brother.

I had to see him.

As quickly as I could, I slipped into a silky purple dress, and tied up my long, wavy, black hair into a bun. A few strands were still hanging out from the bun, but that didn’t matter right then. I had hurtled out of my room and ran down the hall. Surprised servants had looked at me with their shocked expressions. The servants pressed up against the walls to let me through. One slave dropped a vase, and the sound of its shattered pieces echoed through the hallway. One of my maids shouted, “Milady!” But I ignored them. On the stairs, I skipped every step so I could get down faster. On the last one though, I tripped and fell flat on my face, onto the marble floor. My hands pushed my torso up from the floor, “Ugh…”

My hair was ruined, but what did I care. Swiftly, I got up again. When I reached the main entrance, I shoved the large wooden doors open and they had hit the white pillars with a loud bang. The crowd assembled outside broke into silence, and stared at me with surprised expressions. Ignoring them, I had lifted up my long flowing dress with my hands as I skittered down the white steps of the palace. Then I ran towards the gates.

He had to be there, he just had to be.

People scurried out of my way as I hurtled into the crowd. I passed the orchards, passed the terrace. As I finally reached the big iron gates, my feet came to an abrupt stop. There was no one there. My eyes darted around, left and right, trying to find the mysterious man who looked so much like my brother. I breathed in uneven breaths.

No…

Staring at the big white walls that surrounded the palace, I whispered in a voice full of despair, “Aro…”

My head sank down in shame and embarrassment. It was just my imagination. I was so stupid. That wasn’t like me. How could I have rushed out like an angry bull, and come out there thinking that my brother was here? I was making everyone unhappy because of me. Sighing in defeat, I returned to the palace.

Apologizing to the now sullen crowd, I had introduced myself to them. They had lightened up and greeted me with kind smiles. Even though I deserved no kindness, I returned their smiles with a sad one of my own. People greeted me here and there, glad that they got to meet the future lady of the house. There were tables of fruits and meat inside the palace walls. But I only grabbed a goblet of wine. My appetite was lost. Sipping a little here and there, I mingled with the party guests, and greeted some relatives I’ve never met before. My façade was wearing down; I was too depressed that day. Usually, I would love parties. But this one signified my arranged marriage. After I’d finished my drink, I set the goblet down onto one of the tables, and went to sit in one of the benches in the orchards.

Mother came up to me that evening and said, “Didyme, my dear daughter. You should be more happy. You are going to be married. Stop spouting your clever words, to entertain everyone else. You yourself must be happy. You are finally a woman, Didyme. Your nature was much better than your foul brother’s. Come, come and meet your future husband.”

My missing brother, Aro, had run away a few years ago. He’s thirteen years older than I. Indeed, he was a demon. He had an evil nature. His greediness had always gotten him into trouble. Aro wasn't greedy for money however... it was for power. He was never content. But, I loved my brother still. I hadn’t seen him for fifteen years. At the time, my best presumption was that he was dead. Oh, I had missed him so much.

After everyone had went home, Mother, Father, and all the servants had gone to sleep. I lay awake in bed, thinking about my whole life: childhood, adolescence, and my new adulthood. I did not like it. I did not want to be married and given away. I didn’t even like my fiancée. He was an ugly man with a stubborn face. Why did I have to be married now? Couldn’t Mother and Father wait a few years, at least, for me to become… closer to this man? Though the thought disgusted me, at least it would make Mother and Father seem less ignorant to me. Filled with frustration, I got out of bed and decided to go out and take a walk in the orchards.

It’s quite quiet that night. The only sounds were the sounds of my footsteps upon the marble walkway of the orchards. I had looked up at the starry night sky. There were many stars out that night. When I had reached the middle of the orchards, there were some fireflies floating just above the fountain. Water had trickled down the stone fountain, making a quiet splash into the small pool. Sitting down on the edge of the fountain, I lifted my head and looked up as I gazed into the stars.

A few moments later, someone grabbed my shoulder. I screamed and, in a blurred motion, a white hand went up to cover my mouth. I looked up at the man with panicked eyes, and then I gasped in disbelief at who it was. He had black hair and had father’s face, except for his eyes. Mother’s eyes were covered in shadows because of the darkness. He was smiling at me and whispered, “Hello Didyme.” Then he let his hand off my mouth.

My lips twisted into a happy and surprised smile. It wasn’t my imagination. He was there! My brother was there at the party after all. He’s not dead I had thought! Aro had come back!

“Aro! My brother, what are you doing here?! You nearly scared me half to death.” I continued to stare at him. It looked as if Aro had risen from the dead. The last time I saw him, he didn’t seem this fair and beautiful. And, where he touched my shoulder, was still cold as ice. Something had changed.

“All in good time, dear sister.” Then he grabbed my left hand and held it in his for a long moment. His eyes closed, and his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. This was strange, he never usually did this.

“My brother, why are you holding my palm?” I tried to pull it away, but Aro held on to it very tightly. He was so… strong.
After a few moments, he finally opened his eyes, and smiled, “Nothing of course, Didyme.” He held onto my hand, and smiled.

My mind was filled questions. Where was he in those past few years? Why did he run away? Why did he look so different? What happened to him?

And, as if he read my mind, he chuckled and said, “I was starting up a… group of my own, and I ran away to fulfill my dreams, Didyme. Forgive me if this made you unhappy.” He laughed softly, “I know I look very… strange to you. But, I didn’t rise from the grave.” He chuckled darkly and then continued, “Trust me dear sister, all your other questions will be answered in good time.”

Aro gently tugged my arm and pulled me out of the orchards. We were heading toward the front gate in less than a second. How did he become so fast?

“Aro, where are you taking me?”

“To my home.” He smiled back reassuringly at me.

“Shall we not tell Mother and Father?”

That stopped him short. He paused for a moment, and then said, “I don’t think they’ll be that useful. They are very old…..” Then he started walking again. When we reached the gate, I was about to tell him that the gates would be locked but, as I looked closer, I saw that the locks had broken.

Aro and I marched out into the streets. I stared up at him in disbelief and asked, “Did you break the locks on the gates?” But he didn’t answer.

In two seconds, he had pulled me up and put me on his shoulders. My arms were dangling on his back, and he started running. My eyes widened at his speed. Everything we passed by was so blurry.

“How long do I have stay until you take me home?”

Again, he smiled at me. “I’m not taking you home, dear sister.”

My face became a cold mask, “…What do you mean I’m not going home?”

“You are living with me from now on.”

He didn’t seem to be lying, and he seemed very confident about it. My hands balled up into fists and I yelled at him, “What?! NO! Have you lost your mind, Aro? I don’t even know where ‘home’ is to you. You take me back to Mother and Father!” I tried to shove him, and make him put me down, but that only gave me bruises. “Aro, put me down now!”

Aro glanced back at me but didn’t break him pace. “I’m sorry but you have no other choice.” He looked back at me, with his eyes only a few inches away from mine.

Then I gasped. His eyes… they were bright crimson red, the color of blood.

I whispered quietly, “My brother, what are you?” Aro stopped running and stopped in the middle of the street. There was a small hole in the ground; I cringed away from it. I'm scared of the dark. And I thought the hole probably went a long way down too. He pulled me down from his shoulder and held me in mid-air above the hole. I looked at him in panic.

“Something that you’ll become very soon.” He smiled one last time, and then sank his teeth into the crease of my elbow. I froze in shock. What was he doing?! Had he become a cannibal?! It took only a second for a pain to creep into my arm. Then I was on fire. A high pitched scream escaped out of my lips. My elbow was on fire! It burned, and burned! I screamed at him, “What did you do to me?!! Why am I burning?!!!! Make it stop! Make it stop!!!” Aro ignored my screams.

He dropped me into the small hole. I fell into the dark. I hyperventilated and screamed even more. I hate the dark, and the fire had made it even more frightening. I couldn’t stop screaming. As I had continued to fall, the pain had spread throughout my whole entire arm. Then, my body had landed smack onto the cold, rough stone floor. But it was still dark. My gasps and whimpers had echoed into the dark. Where was I? Aro landed next to me quickly. He picked me up again, and started running through the dark. I had no sense of where I was. All I did was scream.




I don’t know how long it was. Hours? Days? Weeks? But time ceased to mean anything to me now. I knew I was going to die. My body was lying on a small bed, and it couldn’t stop shaking from the fire that had blazed through me. My screams wouldn’t stop. I was only aware of a few presences that came in and out of the room. Every time someone came in, I shrieked at them, “Please! Please! I beg you-please kill me!!!” But they would always ignore my pleas.

Aro had put me in a small stone chamber. It seemed like a dungeon… it was cold, and there and was barely any light. This room was just like the dark tunnel where he first brought me. Cold, dark, and frightening. There was also a strange odor in the room, like some sort of salt, or a slightly rusty smell in the air. He had lain me down on a bed. Then he left me there and didn’t come back. I clawed the empty air with my hands, desperate to make him come back to me. This was a nightmare; it had to be just a really horrible dream. Aro wouldn’t do that to me. He’s my brother. This was just a really bad dream. Please, I thought, just let me wake up from this nightmare. But as I continued to lie to myself, I knew it was no use. It was too real.

Just when I thought the pain couldn’t get any worse, the flames had spread into my heart, and through my entire body, in a matter of seconds. I’d never felt that much pain in my entire life. Being married off seemed a much better option now than this.

My mind, however, was unbearably clear, and all I could think about was the fire as it burned through my chest, my legs, and my throat. Screams escaped from my mouth, non-stop. I writhed in pain, lying in darkness.

Mother and Father’s faces were in my mind. Why was I so naïve? If I had just accepted the fact that I would be a woman, a man’s wife, and nothing more, would I still be in this pain? Had the gods punished me for not knowing my place? Tears poured down my face as I continued to think of them. I wanted to go back home, to go back to the comforts of Mother and Father. Nothing could justify going through this pain.

It seemed like forever. The fire didn’t decrease by any degree. Not only that, but the pain never paused either. Strangely, I became stronger as time dragged on. The screams stopped; it never did any good to scream. Soon enough, I could think around the pain. There were faint voices talking, far away, outside the stone chamber.

“Aro, this is ridiculous. Must we leave her to suffer in pain? Why don’t we just devour her? She begs us to kill her, why not grant her wish?”

“Dear Caius, it would be a waste to kill her. I’ve waited for ten years until now, just so I could change her. I guarantee you that Didyme will have great powers like mine.”

The man snarled, “If you insist on letting her live, then make yourself useful and find some food for us all. I’m starved.”

I heard no more.

Later in the day, someone else had walked in. Their quiet footsteps echoed on the walls of the chamber. They didn’t leave like the others. They just walked to my bedside. I didn’t open my eyes to see who it was. Even though I had stopped screaming, I was still in too much pain to open them. Was it Aro? I waited a moment for them to say something. There was no response.
I whispered quietly, “Aro?”

A man answered in a musical voice, “No, I am not your brother.”

I frowned. It wasn’t Aro. It was a stranger. Whoever he was though, he continued to stand there, next to my bedside.

“If… you… are not… Aro… then please kill me.”

The man sighed, as if he knew exactly how much pain I was in, “I’m sorry. I know this is quite painful. But it will be over soon.” Then he said nothing else.

I clenched my teeth. This was such a waste of my time. Will none of my desires be fulfilled? I can’t go home, I’m suffering under this horrible torture, and I’m not even allowed to die. Why did I have to be burned alive in this fire? I whispered as hard and cold as I could, “If you won’t end my suffering, then get out of my sight."

The man hesitated. He still didn’t move. Then I screamed, “GET OUT!”

The sound of his faint footsteps echoed on the walls, as he walked out of the room.

The pain dragged on. I listened to the voices outside the small stone chamber. Some of the voices were going in and out of the walls. I heard them talking.

“Finally,” Caius said, “I don’t know why you insisted on staying here. The wench is in too much pain anyway.”

Aro responded, “There’s always a chance that they might run away.”

Caius scoffed at him, “A weak little thing like her?”

“A person like you shouldn’t be accusing others of being weak, Caius. Did you already forget that fight you almost lost with that monster?” He snickered.

Caius didn’t respond. The conversation stopped there. There was a loud creaking, and then a thud. Then they were both gone.

My breathing was hoarse. I didn’t know why my throat’s so thirsty. I was so parched. Dry as bone, and burning with thirst…

At long last, the fire started to leave. It slowly faded away from my fingers and toes. But it was painfully slow. The fire didn’t leave completely. Instead of staying in my fingertips, it went to my heart.

My heart burned even hotter. How was that possible? My heartbeat was beating too fast. The fire flared up inside my ribs. Would it never end?

Then my heart took off. Its sound had reminded me of lightning. The flames in my heart had absorbed every other fire in my body, and had fueled the most scorching blaze inside my chest. It had been like a thousand poisonous snakes sinking their fangs into this very tiny spot in my ribs. Another high-pitched scream had escaped from my lips. The pain had been enough to paralyze me. My heart had raced against the torturing fire. They were both fighting; they were both losing. The fire was facing defeat, having no more flesh to consume. My heart was also facing defeat, reaching toward its last beat.

The fire constricted and squeezed, concentrating inside that one remaining piece of organ, with one last, unbearable, surge. I couldn’t even describe it. Not even a thousand strikes of lightning could have compared to the amount of pain it was. The surge was then answered by a deep hollow-sounding thud. My heart had stuttered two….three… then four times. Then there was one last, quiet, thud. Then there was no more.




Am I dead? I had thought. My chest crumpled in agony as I thought it over. I am dead I had thought. There was no other answer. I couldn’t hear my heart anymore, and the fire had disappeared completely. Why did I die so young? My life had barely even started. Oh well. It must be my destiny I thought. I waited in the dark for death to come and take me.

Nothing happened.

I had opened my eyes and stared at the walls. Why was I still here? I thought. I should be dead…..or am I condemned to a life of a ghost? I wondered. I had gingerly gotten up from the bed. My mind had thought over what had happened in the tunnels. I remembered that I had dropped my slippers in there, and my nightgown had ripped in several places. My legs were about to flinch when my bare feet touched the floor. But it didn’t feel cold anymore. In fact, the whole room felt unexpectedly warm. Looking around the chamber for the first time, I had gotten a much clearer picture of the room. My eyes had wandered across the chamber in amazement. The room wasn’t as small as I had thought, and it was quite beautifully built. The stone walls had a unique pattern carved into them. Small, black, etched diamonds and circles repeated themselves in the rough stone design. It reminded me of the beautiful stone walkways in the orchard. The ceiling stretched so high, it looked as if it was two stories tall. The bed was in the middle of the room. Though quite big, its wooden legs were black as charcoal. It looked so ancient and out of place. The dim light that came out of the entrance to the room, shined on the ragged sheets that covered it. I could barely see that the room was a long rectangular shape. I also noticed something else. Everything did seem very different. It looked... clear. Crystal clear. Even though there was only a dim speck of light, I could see the details of every little diamond and circle in the wall, and all the scratches on the dark wooden legs of the bed.

It was also worse. The salty smell that was in the air was even stronger now. It gagged me. I had coughed, and tried to hold my breath. After a few moments, I had started breathing again in ragged breaths. What is this? I thought. Although it seems that my sight is now better, my sense of smell became worse I had thought. The smell was too strong.

I paced the room, looking at everything. My feet scraped the black polished floor, making a strange scratching noise. Where am I? I wondered. Curiosity got the best of me. As I came up to the wall, I put my hand on the stones, and pressed on it, feeling the texture. It felt rough and smooth at the same time. What happened next was not what I expected. There was a loud, crumbling sound. Gasping, I pulled my hand away, shocked. The wall had left a faint imprint of my hand.

It seemed so unreal, though the evidence was right in front of my eyes. Did I just do that? I wondered. My eyes had focused on that small place where the shape of my hand was. Lifting up my hand, I compared it to the imprint in the wall. I felt my eyes widen; it was the exact same shape.

My hands automatically went up to my mouth. Impossible I thought.

I have to get out of here. None of this even seems real anymore. There was no way I had just done that. This is a dream. How could Aro have come back, and kidnap me from home? He disappeared fifteen years ago. I was sure he was dead. And for him to actually take me away and….bite me?! Of course, Mother and Father didn’t care about the disappearance, but he is my brother. I didn’t care that he wasn’t the perfect heir. He is family. But, this person didn’t even look like my brother. When we were little, we both had sun kissed skin, tanned with the slightest touch; and this man’s was… pale snow white. Of course he acted just like my brother… but was that part of the act? Could my kidnapper just be a master of disguise? I had thought.

Involuntarily, my body started shaking. I was hyperventilating.

Calm down, I told myself, just calm down. I was over thinking it again. Of course that was my brother. I know that was Aro. He’s just changed after these fifteen years. It was nothing to be worried about, is it? I thought. I still wanted one thing, and one thing only. Escape.

I have to get out of here I thought.

My eyes swiftly analyzed the room. The only way out is the doorway, just a few meters away from me I thought. My mind immediately thought over the possibilities of my escape; would someone catch me? And what if I get lost; I didn’t know my way around here. When Aro had carried me through the tunnels, I was in too much pain to observe them and to take in which way I had come from.

I walked to the doorway, and poked my head out of the chamber to get a better perspective of my surroundings. I gulped. It was a hallway and, from what I could see, the room was at the very end of it. There was a torch hanging on the right side of the black, ugly, stone wall, only a few meters away from me. Light touched the entrance of the chamber, but it couldn’t go any farther into the hall. From what I could see, the hallway had no end. The light of the torch was very dim, and the flame had looked as if it was going to blow out at any moment. My arms crossed, and I rubbed my elbows nervously. How am I going to find my way out of this? I thought.

But I have to, if I was ever going to find a way out of here I thought. I just had to go home. But then what? What would I tell Mother and Father? That Aro kidnapped me? No, they would find him and kill him, even if he was my brother. My body shivered at the thought; I never ever seen someone die before and thinking about it, especially if it was my brother being executed, made me shake in fright. Mother and Father are one the richest families in town, and they are known for their merciless tactics. Years ago, when Father and I took a stroll in the streets, I remembered one time a slattern threw a rotten apple at Father. Father was very angry, and I’d never seen him that way before; he called the guards to seize up the slattern, and they took him away. Of course I was only five, and Mother and Father never told me what happened to him. It was only a few nights later, that Aro told me in secret that the slattern was dead.

I continued to stare into the endless hallway. The darkness of it irked me. Be brave Didyme, be brave I chanted to myself again, and again.

Quietly I stepped out of the room. Closing my eyes, I had listened for anyone who might be in the hallway. There was only the sound of my breathing. Taking deep breath, I started walking.

My footsteps made absolutely no sound. When I had walked far enough that I was under the light, I paused and plucked the torch from the wall. My hand tightened on its metal hold. Surprisingly, the metal had bent and twisted within my grasp. I looked down at it with a quiet surprise. This is quite fragile I thought.

Some instinct took over. My feet moved forward automatically and started running. The ugly walls passed me in a blur as I sped through the hallway. The speed was exhilarating; I had never run that fast before. But the thrill took the fear away. The only light source was the flame that I then held in my hand. Using my other free one, I put it on the wall, letting it slide against it as I ran. Small stones crumbled under my touch. I giggled. This feels like a dream…maybe a nightmare I thought.

Then my run came to a halt. I had reached an intersection in the hallway. Pausing, I observed my choices. Using the torch, I pointed it into the right hallway so I could see if there was anything there, and then pointed it in the front hall ahead of me, and to the left one. All of them looked the same. Which way should I go? Straight, left, or right? Be brave I had thought. Something was telling me to go left. I turned, cautiously, looking for a sign if someone was there. Nothing. I started running again. Soon after, I reached another intersection; I went straight. Suddenly, another appeared; I turned left. Not even bothering to run again, I reached another intersection, this time only right or left; I chose right. My feet were instinctively telling me which way to go, even though I had no idea where I was going.

This dragged on for a long time. I was getting nowhere. I was repeatedly reaching intersections, and I obeyed my consciousness. Maybe it was wrong. I felt hopelessly lost.

It was then that I heard someone’s quiet cough. In less than a second, I crouched down to the ground. The torch fell out of my hands. Without my intention, it landed beside me with a loud clang. The sound of it echoed through the hallway, for a long, dragging second. Then the flames went out. The hallway turned pitch black.

I was frozen in shock.

Oh no, what if someone heard me? I thought. I was so frightened. Being surrounded in darkness didn’t help. If it weren’t for the loud clang the torch made, maybe I could have slowly slipped away, unnoticed. But there was no way no one would have heard that.

In the pitch black darkness, I desperately listened closer for any other sounds. Then I heard them. From far away there were faint sounds of footsteps, becoming louder and faster with each second. The slow pace became a fast walk, and then a run.

And I wasn’t stupid.

I took off. It was hard to see in the dark. The only thing that guided me was the sound of whoever’s footsteps it was. I knew I had to get further away from them. As the sound became louder, I ran from it. Turning left, right, I didn’t stop running. That was all I could do in the dark.

The fear made me unaware of my surroundings. In half a second, I slammed into the wall; the wall crumbled a little from the impact of my body. Small stones cracked, and chipped from under me. Cringing, I thought my body had also broken some bones. But it didn’t. A chill went down my spine when I realized where I had gone. Murmuring to myself, I cried out desperately, “No, no, no…..”

It was a dead end.

The footsteps from grew louder. I was trapped. My hands clawed the walls, and ceiling in hopes that a miracle would appear. As the footsteps grew louder, I heard them turn, and then a sigh, as they slowed to a walk. Each distinct step echoed through the hall, coming closer and closer. I gasped; they were only a few steps away from me.

I jumped even higher and clawed the air above me. There was a quiet clanging; my hands hit something metal. Jumping again, my hands caught a metal handle. Driven with fear, I pulled. A loud metal noise erupted from the small space. I pulled even harder. The ceiling started to open. Seconds later, I realized what I was pulling on. It was a door. A trapdoor in the ceiling.

From the other side of the door, the scents of flowers and the sound of a small stream reached my nose and ears. It was a door that led outside.

Moonlight shined into the small dark space where I was once trapped. The light spread into the hallway, until at last reached my pursuer. My face turned toward them, trying to get a glimpse of who it was. My body froze. For a second, I stared at them. It was a man, a man wearing a black cloak just like my brother. His raven black hair glistened in the moonlight. The man looked like he was about thirty years of age. He was very tall, and had the face of an angel, like a stone statue. The one thing that really awed me was that this man was extremely beautiful.

The posture he had, suggested that he was about to prance at me. But he had stopped walking, and he stood there staring at me as well, frozen like I am in that moment.

I was reacted faster. Breaking the trance, I pulled even harder until the opening was big enough for me to go through. The man returned to his pursuit. He ran with breathtaking speed. But it was too late. Letting go of the handle, I jumped up into the air, through the opening. Landing onto the grass, I had stared into the hole where I came from, as the metal door closed.

The man shouted, “NO!” And then the trapdoor slammed shut. Silence followed. I waited a minute to see if he was still coming after me. The door didn’t open again.

When I felt sure I was safe, I sighed heavily. My body flopped down onto the earth, and spread out with ease. I had escaped.

I looked around me, in wonder.

This is the review my history teacher's wife gave me:

THis is a good, compelling beginning of a story. It is exciting, intriguing and dives into a culture that is curious, unusual and interesting.
You have succeeded in writing a story that has many publishible aspects; especially interest, variance and intrigue.
Try to capture the reader a bit more in the beginning. You want the reader to kekep turning the page, keep thinking of what might happen to Didyme, what could happen that could make her happier OR unhappier. Perhaps a fleeting glance of Aro-imagined or not. Perhaps a wish or evil thought that would get her out of her situation? Perhaps even something completely selfish that only she can imagine?
Think of your reader as a girl of Didyme's age. What does she feel? Describe in detail why she's afraid, angry, and opposed to the arranged marriage. Don't be afraid to write those feelings that only Didyme knows...even if her parents and society would dissaprove.
Take your time in describing the details. You have a lot of information here that many readers are unfamiliar with; arranged marriage, dissapointed parents, following in the footsteps of a disappearing brother, a grand celebration that is not similar to everyday parties, an orchard, and finally the evil that enters the story. Tell your readers what you are seeing at the party, what Didyme and others are feeling, what she likes and dislikes, the food, the weather, and the decorations.
In this short summary, you really have a good five or six chapters worth of information that you could describe to your readers and get them to love Didyme, hate her situation, and feel for her, even step into her shoes.
The trust and fear that Didyme has with Aro shines through this story very well. Take your feelings and emotions that you wrote that part of the story with adn apply it to the beginning of the story.
This is good, keep going. Keep revising. Take your reader down the hole with Aro to an exciting adventure.