Doppelganger
"Jay, the tour is about to begin;" Anna said with a sigh pushing her dark hair behind her ear. "I'm going without you, I'm not going to miss out on one more thing because you stood me up again," she said snapping her cell phone closed in annoyance. She quickly rushed in to rejoin the tour group entering the castle. She'd been beyond ecstatic when she learned that her family and friends had pooled their money to give her two plane tickets to her dream destination for her graduation present. Going to Italy had always been on her personal to-do list, ever since she was little. Now that she was here the only thing marring her perfect vacation was her not so perfect boyfriend. They'd been in Italy for two whole days and he'd already found people he'd rather hang out with than her. As much as it hurt, she was more frustrated with herself. She honestly didn't know what she saw in him anymore, sure he was handsome and smart but he didn't seem to have any of the qualities a good boyfriend should have. She should have brought her best friend Nikki with her, Anna thought with a mental groan. She probably would have been able to enjoy the sights more.
"Now, this is a very special room," the tour guide named Heidi said with a grin. "We've nicknamed it the throne room, you'll see why," she added as the other tourists readied their cameras.
It was beautiful. The room had a large ornate dome and so many works of art that Anna was almost giddy. She hurried inside so that she could get a better look, not noticing the strange murmurings of the people already in the room. "Didyme?" a deep voice rasped catching her attention. She turned to see a tall man with long jet black hair staring at her in shock. "Didyme?" he repeated his steps quickening as he approached her.
"I'm sorry; I think you have mistaken me for someone else. My name is Anna," she said almost apologetically when she saw how his face fell in disappointment. She bit down on her bottom lip nervously as his dark eyes scanned her face in wonder.
"You are the very image of her," he whispered his icy fingers stroking a lock of her hair. "Brothers, before we begin you must see this," he all but shouted. "Do not be afraid, child;" he said as Anna tensed up. "No one will harm you. I will never allow it," he said with a fierceness that did more to disturb her than comfort her.
"What is this?" said one of the men he had called over looking over her features with his red eyes in shock. "Give me your hand," he commanded reaching for her causing her to jump and take a few involuntary steps back.
"Aro, do not scare her," the dark haired man commanded firmly. "She is an innocent," he chastised coming to stand behind her putting his icy hands on her shoulders and urging her forward. "He will not harm you," he whispered to her not noticing the look that passed between Aro and the blond haired man beside him. "Give him your hand, sweet girl;" the dark haired man urged with a smile. Anna took a deep breath and did what she was asked. She had no idea why but she trusted that he wouldn't let anything happen to her. Perhaps it was the fierceness of his expression, she decided.
"I'm sorry if I seemed rude," Aro said dropping her hand with a relieved smile. "You took us by surprise. You look just like someone we once knew, it startled us;" he explained in a friendly tone. "My name is Aro and this is my brother Caius. I believe you've already met my brother Marcus," he said gesturing to the man staring at her. "I know you came here for a tour and since we've interrupted that, I was thinking it would be only right if we gave you a private tour later. To make up for the rudeness," he added looking at his brothers for approval.
"A private tour?" Anna stammered not believing her ears. "I could catch the next one. I wouldn't want you to go to any trouble," she said collecting herself despite her confusion.
"It is no trouble," Aro assured her giving her hand a kiss. "When you come back for the private tour we can show you parts of the castle that are not normally open to the public. Marcus, I'm sure would love to show you around," he said guiding her out of the door shooting a look at one of the men standing next to it.
"Thank you," Anna said gratefully. Her experience there might have been surreal but at least they were willing to make up for the awkwardness, she thought. "What time should I come back?" she questioned as the man that was standing next to the door grabbed her by her arms and gently but hurriedly escorted her down the corridor.
"After sun set," Aro said with a wave as the doors closed to the throne room.
"This is disturbing," Caius said an hour later pacing around Aro's office in agitation. "You should not have let her go. We should have killed her with the others," he added shaking his head at Aro.
"There is no need for that," Aro said quietly. "She has idea what we are and Demetri was able to get her out of the castle before we began to feed," he said looking lost in thought.
"Do you not consider her a threat because of her uncanny resemblance to your dead sister? Your judgment is clouded Aro. The girl should be disposed of immediately," Caius insisted running his fingers through his long blond hair anxiously.
"Marcus would never allow it," Aro said in amusement. "This could work to our advantage, brother;" Aro said with a sly look on his face. Caius turned to him with interest. "Ever since my dear sister's unfortunate demise, Marcus has been…desolate. Perhaps this young girl can spark some kind of life in our dear brother. He'll be more useful if he's happy," Aro reasoned crossing his arms thoughtfully. "We won't kill her. We will make her feel welcome instead. Make her join with us willingly. It would be interesting to see if she has a latent talent that could benefit us as well. When I read her mind, I had a hard time seeing what she had thought in the past; only what she was presently thinking was clear," Aro decided with a grin.
"Marcus has been all but useless to us since he lost his wife," Caius reluctantly acknowledged. "I suppose if we keep an eye on her; the harm that could be done is limited. She might indeed prove useful," he agreed with a shrug. "If she gets in the way we can always …." Caius allowed his voice to drift off suggestively.
"Good. It's settled then," Aro said obviously pleased. "We will be on our best behavior. When the time comes, I think we should let our brother Marcus tell her what we are. It will help to forge a bond between them and cultivate trust. What do you think?" Aro said with a grin.
"I agree. Now, I'm off to visit with my wife. She's understandably anxious and I need to tell her what our plans are so she acts accordingly," Caius said tilting his head at Aro before turning to leave the room. Aro stood there thoughtfully before opening a desk drawer where he kept a small portrait of his sister.
"Dear sister," he muttered with a sigh. "Is this your vengeance?" he quietly asked looking at the picture with a mixture of anger and regret.
"Let go of me," Anna said through gritted teeth. "I'm going to be late!" she added in annoyance trying to twist her wrist free of her boyfriend's grip.
"Shut up!" he snapped giving her face a slap. Anna held her cheek in shock, he'd never hit her before. In fact, no one had. "We're not going to go to some stupid tour of some stupid castle. I made us some friends and we're going to go a party. I don't want to hear another word about it," he snarled pulling her out of the hotel with him.
"No we're not!" Anna declared finally being able to wriggle free. "Look, I don't know what has gotten into you but I've had it. Its over," she declared turning to walk away. "Get your hands off of me!" she shrieked as he grabbed her arm again.
"I would advise you to do as the lady says," a cool voice said. Anna looked up to see Marcus; the man from the castle standing in front of her looking at Jay wrathfully. "I will not ask you again," Marcus said staring him in the eye.
"We were just talking," Jay said his blue eyes widening as Marcus took a menacing step towards him.
"Well, your conversation with the lady appears to be over, does it not?" Marcus said with a thin smile as Anna looked at him curiously. "Let Anna go now," he hissed before standing next to Jay and whispering something that spooked him in his ear. Jay released her and all but ran down the sidewalk, only pausing to send Anna a fearful look.
"Thank you," Anna said gratefully. "What did you say to him anyway?" she wondered rubbing her arm with a wince.
"I reminded him of his manners," Marcus said dismissively. "You were struck," he growled tilting her face upwards with the tips of his fingers.
"Yeah," Anna said embarrassed. "He's not usually like that. He usually ignores me unless he wants something but I never thought in a million years he'd hit me," she added in disbelief. "I broke up with him, don't worry;" she said feeling uneasy at the way Marcus seemed to tremble in front of her and his red eyes narrowed. Wait a minute, she thought. Weren't they dark before? She asked herself in confusion. "What brought you down here?" she asked trying to change the subject.
"I was looking for you," Marcus said simply. "I was supposed to give you a tour after the sun set. When you weren't there I went looking for you, and I'm glad I did;" he explained his fingers stroking the red mark on her cheek.
"Sunset wasn't that long ago," she asked clearing her throat and taking a step back. His close proximity was making her nervous and oddly enough embarrassed.
"I was eager to see you again," he admitted sheepishly. "I did not wait long," he added with a shrug before he offered her his arm. "Young men like that are not worthy of your time, my dear;" he said patting her on her hand. "You are well rid of him," he promised with a small smile. "You would not believe what the world has in store for someone like you," he said appearing lost in thought. Anna wondered if he was talking to her or himself as they wandered down the street.
"Look, dear Anna's back," Aro gleefully said walking towards her with out stretched arms. Anna looked around the room nervously. She seemed to be the center of attention and she wasn't sure she liked it. "What happened here?" Aro crooned pushing her dark locks away from her cheek. Anna pulled away in embarrassment looking at the floor, wishing it would swallow her up. Great she thought bitterly. If Aro noticed it then it must have gone from a red mark to a bruise.
"It appears that a beau of Anna's got out of hand and she's discarded him accordingly," Marcus said exchanging a look with his brothers that made Anna feel uneasy.
"As well you should," Aro said clasping Anna's hands. " Men like that never change but let us not allow that rotten youth to spoil our evening," he declared beginning to introduce her to everyone that had gathered in the hall.
"Wow, a lot of people live here. It's not just a tourist attraction," Anna said when she was standing next to Felix.
"No, its not. You're getting the full tour even the wings that have our private rooms. You won't go in those rooms of course but most people don't even get to see that part of the castle," he said with a wide grin. "It's a bit overwhelming but you get used to it," he assured her.
"I'm just here for a tour, I'm not moving in;" she said with a laugh. Felix shook his head trying to hide his smirk. "What does that look mean?" Anna demanded feeling uneasy despite the smile she had on her face.
"I know Aro," he explained with a shrug of his massive shoulders. "He wouldn't go to all this trouble if he hadn't planned on …well, offering you a job," he said catching a look from Caius.
"A job?" she asked flabbergasted. "I have no skills. I don't even speak Italian," she protested in shock.
"It doesn't matter. Aro's going to want to keep you around anyway he can," Felix said giving her an apologetic look.
"Why? He doesn't even know me," Anna said her hazel eyes widening in alarm. Felix gestured for her to be quiet and follow him which she did without hesitation. "Where are we going?" she whispered, unaware that everyone would hear her anyway.
"Aro's office. I need to show you something. Hurry up before we're missed," he said motioning her forward. "Here we are," Felix said after rummaging around a desk drawer. "Come over and take a look. Don't be shy," he urged with a wink. She reluctantly stepped inside, feeling extremely rude but curious all the same. "We're not ransacking the place, I'm just going to show you this one thing and then we'll head back before we can be missed," he promised.
"Why does Aro have a picture of me?" Anna said in alarm leaping back from the portrait as though it were on fire. "I am officially creeped out now," she said hurrying out of the room to catch her breath. She leaned against the far wall, jumping when Felix put her hand on the small of her back trying to comfort her. "Why does he have a painting of me in his office?" she asked looking up at Felix in alarm.
"It's not of you," Felix said sadly. "It's of his late sister, Didyme. That's why everyone was so shocked when they saw you," he explained worriedly.
"That's why they've been so friendly," she whispered. You are the very image of her; Marcus had said when they first met. She hadn't known he meant literally. "I remind them of her," she said squeezing her eyes shut as dizziness threatened to overwhelm her.
"Yes. Aro doesn't mean any harm by it. If you lost someone and then saw their look a like wouldn't you want to keep them around?" Felix asked meaningfully. Anna thought of her late mother. If she had seen a woman with such a resemblance to her, Anna honestly didn't know how she'd react. Taking a deep breath, she nodded at Felix that she was alright.
"I guess I understand," she said uneasily. "It's just kind of a shock. No wonder he seemed almost hostile the first time he met me. He must have thought someone was playing a cruel trick on him," Anna said thoughtfully. "At the same time though, it must hurt him to look at me," she said almost tearfully as she tried to imagine herself in that position.
"I don't think Aro thinks of it that way," Felix said with a grin. "I think it actually makes him feel better to see you. We should get back, Aro went to a lot of trouble…" Felix said with a slight grimace twisting his pale features.
"Yeah. I don't want to be rude or rather ruder than I already have been," Anna said looking at Aro's office with a guilty expression.
"Please explain your logic to me, brother;" Caius asked in a bored tone as he draped himself in one of the leather chairs across from Aro's desk. "Marcus is showing her around the castle as we speak and yet you have not only let her live but have asked Felix to befriend her," Caius said shaking his head in disbelief.
"The more ties to bind her to us the better, brother. In Marcus she would have a lover, in Felix she would have a friend," Aro said with a shrug. "He's told her my tale of woe to help me engender her sympathy. It's not that hard a plan to understand, Caius;" Aro said in amusement. "Not only is it simple but it takes very little effort on our part," he pointed out.
"Why not just turn her?" Caius demanded his angry confusion. "Why should we bother with all this subterfuge for one little human girl?" he added in disgust.
"If we turn her against her will, she will be discontent. Oh of course she would adapt in time but in the meanwhile it would be counterproductive. If she is to be a fit consort for Marcus, she must be here willingly, happily even; or we risk Marcus becoming even more withdrawn and discontent himself. That is something we can't have," Aro pointed out. "We're not playing any games for her benefit but wouldn't it be nice if our brother was once again whole? He'd be a lot more useful to us than he is now," Aro added with a shrug.
"I suppose, but I don't like it," Caius said with a frown.
"You don't like anything," Aro said with a short laugh. "Give the girl a chance perhaps she'll grow more to your liking when you get to know her better," Aro said leaning back in his chair.