A/N: I seriously need to start paying attention in class. Yet again, here's another spontaneous oneshot I came up with. It centers on the wives, and a fantastically-frightening encounter they find themselves in. Allow your mind to be open!
The setting is Forks, no particular time. Oh, and Didyme's alive. Get over it. There's counseling available if you need assistance.
"When do you suppose we will be returning home?" Athenodora asked softly, gazing at the dew-covered trees around them while simultaneously sidestepping a fallen log.
"I am not sure, but I do hope it is soon. I hate it here," Sulpicia replied, wrinkling her nose to show her obvious disgust for the vegetation around her. The Volturi had been in America for the past few days, conducting their yearly check on the Cullens and other neighboring covens.
This time though, Aro allowed the wives to accompany. They rarely left the secure fortress, and it was beginning to affect the overall mood of the fortress; making it rather droll without the womanly charms of Sulpicia, Athenodora, and Didyme. Corin's gift could only work so well…
The women did enjoy the temporary escape, but it turned out to be the same feeling of empty solitude in a different location. Their husbands were always out doing something, seeing someone, or watching over doings. It was a rather solitary life, being the queens of the most powerful vampires in the entire world.
Though their husbands had requested them to stay in the safe house, the women did not see any danger in taking a small walk to relieve them of the cabin fever setting in. There had been no reports of nomads, or any other threats in the area.
"This has been rather uneventful," Athenodora sighed, lifting the hem of her dress to avoid dirtying it in the numerous mud puddles that surrounded the three of them.
"Aro keeps telling me that he'll 'make time' to be with me, but I have yet to see him try." Sulpicia said as she tossed her hair over her shoulder as it snuck over her shoulder and hung down her front.
"Don't you fret, ladies; I'm sure they will make time for us," Didyme said, trying to sound optimistic.
"Perhaps yours will, dear sister, but our husbands actually have work to be done." Athenodora said back, giggling a bit as Sulpicia laughed at her taunt. Didyme turned her nose in the air and ignored them both.
"Classy, sister," she growled.
The women walked in silence around the forests of Forks, enjoying the feeling of having no one around, no guards to overhear, or any boundaries to obey. Didyme had been alarmed for a moment when they crossed over a rushing stream, claiming that she smelled something afoul in the air, but the other wives waved her worries away, for neither of them detected the scent.
They'd forgotten, however, that after hundreds of years—since the last time they left the fortress—of not using their 'noses', the skill often deteriorated.
"What did they say they were doing?" Athenodora inquired, turning her head to look at her dearest friend.
Sulpicia shrugged. "The last I heard, they were visiting the 'treaty line'; some nonsense that the Cullens devised in order to stop a potential war."
"Treaty line? With whom?"
"I do not know, sister; Aro refuses to share the details with me. It's 'business' that is not mine."
Didyme wrung her hands nervously in front of her, not listening to the idle chatter of her sisters, and sweeping the surroundings around her. "I wish to go back to the safe house in Seattle; my nerves are on-edge and I have no explanation…" she whispered, eyes still skimming the environment.
Athenodora scoffed. "Come now, nervous Didy; we will be fine. Anyone with half of a brain knows who we are," she replied as her fingers wandered down to the brass "V" that hung around her neck, "and what would happen to them if they harmed us. Besides…I miss the open air…"
Although Sulpicia would not admit it, she too felt slightly unsure of herself as they continued to stride through the glade.
They continued to walk in silence, each of them consumed with their own thoughts, eventually coming to a clearing. The women cut through the middle of the clearing as Didyme quickened her pace, feeling suddenly very nervous; more than before. Sulpicia stopped dead in her tracks in front of Athenodora and Didyme.
"Sister? What is the matter?"
Sulpicia stared straight-ahead, fear rising in her chest.
Beyond the line of trees, a dark figure that looked as though it was crouching snarled lowly, its eyes glowing ominously in the dark.
Athenodora gasped softly as she too saw the mysterious threat.
Just as the first had appeared, more figures were popping out of the darkness on all sides, also crouching low.
Didyme sucked herself to Athenodora's side, swiveling her head from side-to-side to take in the creatures.
The clearing they found themselves in suddenly stank of dog.
Sulpicia stepped in front of her sisters instinctively, spreading her arms, snarling and hissing back at the growl. Gone was a frail female victim, present was the fierce protector of her coven sisters.
"What's this? Leeches in our territory?" a voice—male—rang out across the clearing.
"You have no land here," Sulpicia spat back, obviously uninformed of the land she was currently standing on that belonged to the La Push wolf pack.
The voice cackled. "Look, the leech is stupid too."
"Still your tongue!" Didyme hissed, watching with wide eyes.
A human figure stepped out from behind a crouching bulge, wearing only torn jean shorts and a mocking expression.
"You have no rights; you are on our land." He said, eyes flickering to the three inhumanly beautiful faces of the women.
"Do you know who we are?" Athenodora asked, shocked at the fear that rattled her voice.
"Does it matter?"
A roar broke out from behind the group of women, causing them all to spin around in complete alarm. One of the crouched figured had stepped out from the tree line and exposed himself freely.
It was a wolf.
Athenodora whimpered, wrapping her arms around Didyme and shrinking in fear from the creature.
"Leave them alone," Sulpicia hissed, eyes going back to the wolf in human form.
"I'm afraid I can't do that. You see…you are on our turf."
"Then let us go, we will leave immediately."
"No," he started, a smirk crossing his youthful face. "You see…it's been a long time since the pack has been able to practice their…combative skills. And it is wrong of me to turn away practice as it wanders so willingly into our midst."
"If you touch them…" Sulpicia threatened, lip curling into a snarl.
"You'll what?" the human-wolf mocked, putting on a face of mimicking fear. "Scratch me to death?"
Sulpicia straightened up, inclining her head proudly. "I will protect my sisters until I cannot stand."
The standing human-wolf chuckled twice. "Very well,"
Athenodora and Didyme both screamed loudly as a roar filled the clearing. Two wolves from the rear lurched forward before launching themselves into the air towards the group of women. Sulpicia swung around in front of them, snarling in reply and jumping from the ground, aiming, and driving her fists forcefully into their exposed underbellies.
Both wolves yelped simultaneously and soared over her head, over the heads of the other wives, and landing onto the ground with a loud thump, whining and whimpering softly, before standing to their feet and snarling once again; baring their teeth menacingly.
"GO!" Sulpicia screeched, pointing to the gap in the circle that was left after the wolves abandoned the circle formation. Didyme grasped Athenodora's upper arm and dragged her with her, both of them bursting into a run into the dense forest. They only ran so far, however, before another wolf darted around from the outside and blocked their path; forcing them back into the clearing.
But when the women re-emerged into the clearing, chaos was alight.
Sulpicia was facing three wolves at once, roaring, slashing, and writhing as one-by-one, they leapt at her, tearing her clothing every so often with their razor-sharp claws.
Athenodora and Didyme could do nothing but watch as a fourth wolf ambushed Sulpicia, falling to the ground with a scream as they piled atop her; jaws snapping.
Sulpicia screamed and writhed as the wolves snapped at her neck and shoulders, arching her back and swatting at them with her arms. Athenodora yelled out in horror and agony, clutching to Didyme's side and sobbing out once as she watched her oldest and dearest friend be ripped slowly to pieces.
Didyme watched with wide eyes while Athenodora buried her head into her shoulder, sobbing raggedly, as Sulpicia's thrashing body went completely still.
A new roar echoed across the clearing, freezing the wolves in place. One of the wolves by Sulpicia's head suddenly collapsed to the ground, whining loudly as it lied helpless in excruciating pain.
Didyme's eyes traced the source immediately.
Jane stood beside a tree with a scowl on her face; her twin brother by her side, sharing the same expression on his young face.
Didyme
A fog was descending on the clearing, enveloping the wolves, and causing them to fall to the ground one by one, lying motionless with frozen expressions. The sight of Sulpicia's mangled and still body met my eyes. My lip trembled as I cried out to her once.
"Sulpicia!"
"NO!"
The unmistakable voice of Aro rang through the air, breaking my hypothetical heart.
"No! No! Sulpicia, my love!" He bellowed, sprinting past Alec and Jane, and kneeling down next to his wife, taking her in his arms and holding her tightly to his chest. Her arm held on by only a few fibers of skin, and deep gashes and cracks spread across her face, chest, stomach, and arms.
I stared at the scene, horror-struck.
Athenodora was wrenched away from my arms, and into Caius', who held her tightly as if she would suddenly slip from his grip fall down onto the ground. Athenodora sobbed openly into her husband's shoulder as he rubbed her back, and whispered soothingly into her ear.
I felt the arms of my own love and husband wrap around me, holding me inescapably in his protective cocoon.
"Are you all right? Speak to me," Marcus begged, kissing the top of my head several times.
"I…I'm fine," I gasped in reply, unable to form proper words from the shock setting into my system.
I snuggled into my husband's chest, concentrating on the feel, and trying to distract myself from the obvious fact that I could have been easily killed.
"She will be all right," a small voice said from behind Aro. Aro lifted his head to see Alice, standing with her surrogate father, Carlisle, in the edge of the clearing. She was wringing her hands nervously in front of her as Carlisle's hand rested on her shoulder comfortingly.
"You have seen this?" Aro asked, sharper than he intended to.
She nodded once. "Yes,"
"Did you not see my wife being attacked?" he spat, eyes narrowing into slits as she shifted her weight from foot to foot.
"N-no, Aro; I did not. They must have been spontaneous—"
Aro cut her off with a growl, standing with Sulpicia in his arms, holding her mostly-detached one with his hand to secure it. Sulpicia let out a small moan, opening her eyes.
"…A-Aro…?"
"I am here, my darling. Don't speak…"
"I-I-I'm sorry…" she whimpered, squeezing her eyes closed as a fresh wave of pain sliced through her body.
"Hush, love," he said, voice soft but with a scolding edge. I visibly flinched away from his voice, burrowing deeper into Marcus' fur cloak.
"Marcus…it's my fault; I'm the reason we were out walking. I convinced them to come with me…" I said, guilt swamping my senses.
Marcus looked down at me, tucking her hair behind my ear. "I know that is not true, Didyme. You needn't protect Sulpicia and Athenodora; they acted on their own."
"But they're my sisters; I must protect them."
"But you can't take the blame only on yourself,"
"Why can't I? Sulpicia took it upon herself to protect Athena and me, and look what happened to her!" I cried, grasping the front of his cloak in an iron fist.
Marcus sighed softly, looking down at me with a saddened expression.
"The best thing that you can do right now is be supporting towards her; she will need it."
I nodded once. "I promise,"
Caius made sure to kick each of the wolves as he walked past them; how he hated them so…
Carlisle ran his hands expertly down Sulpicia's broken form, diagnosing every injury on her.
"We'll need to work quickly, Aro,"
Aro nodded once, jaw set firmly. "Then we shall return home."
Sulpicia continued to hiss, whimper, and cry softly as Aro led the way from the clearing, carrying her while whispering softly to her. The surrounding vampires overheard a few words; all of which were scolds.
"Never again," Aro finished, "never again will you three be allowed out of the fortress. Could you even imagine my grief if you were killed?"
I frowned and leaned my head on Marcus' shoulder.
Our mistake had cost us all our freedom. What little we had, anyway.
And I was truly sorry.