Salutations! On behalf of myself and my co-star, SpinTown, I'd like to take this moment to say that we do not own any of the Volturi characters you know. The ones you don't know are exclusively ours. Now that we have that matter sorted out, we invite you to relax and enjoy the story!
Some men have no idea what they're doing—and a lot of them are really good at it. When I met the man who would soon be my husband, I would have never guessed that I would end up where I am now: a beautiful, dazzling, three thousand year-old trophy wife to a vampire that giggles like a schoolgirl as he dismembers his own species. As I reflect on my life, the more I have to convince myself that it could have been much worse. Dracula is rumored to have three "wives" who are never loved and only exist to do his dirty bidding. I am Sulpicia, the one and only bride of Aro Volturi…at least I better be the only bride.
Aro in recent days seemed to be more romantically involved in his work and Volturi matters more than I, as he'd often take up any opportunity that he had to retire to his personal study instead of inviting me to retire with him to his personal chambers...Alas, nothing seemed the same as it used to between us. Everything had seemed to drastically change; even the "healthy marriage bickering" was no longer existent within our practically dull and bland relationship. The most agitating part of being someone else's trophy-wife, accessory, puppy-in-a-purse, is how overprotected and sheltered I am. I sometimes feel like Rapunzel on probation. In addition to being safe and secure atop a tall tower, I have a personal guard whose only goal is to prevent me from ever leaving and make me okay with that. Unfortunately for dear Corin, I discovered a way to evade whatever strings she places on me. It took a few millennia of struggling to achieve total freedom from it, but at least I can say that I am no longer "blissfully ignorant". Without the curse of contentment in a situation of anything but merry, I acquired a new sense of freedom I haven't before—individualism, the sovereignty to be myself.
The only times I can actually wander about the castle at my leisure is during meal times when I meet my husband in the "throne room", which acts like the Oval Office without the idiocy of politics. What Aro says goes without question; he, along with two other men whom he calls "his brothers" rules our little coven hierarchy. It was after one of those meal times when I walk in on him bottling blood from a forearm. "What are you doing?" He lowers the limb at my question and smiles as he turns around.
"I am collecting some means of nourishment for you." He narrows his eyes with pointed curiosity. "What are you doing out of your room, love?" If I wasn't supposed to be faking homeostasis and pure serenity, I would have slapped him across the face.
"I thought I'd go back for seconds," I answered with a crisp grin. "Thank you for thinking of me, but I'm perfectly capable of hunting for myself." His delightful façade faltered for a moment and then returned with the most conceited response.
"You don't want to get blood on your lovely dress." He turns back to pouring the remainder of the arm's blood into the glass bottle before topping it off with a rubber cork. The dress I was wearing was relatively new—only sixteen months old given as a gift. If only I knew then that the bitterness from wearing his clothes would eat into my soul. I stared at the bottle he held out to me and half-heartedly snatched it.
"Thank you, Aro. I shall see you tonight." I felt his dark smirk against my back as I exited the room.
"Yes, you will," I heard him murmur. "We'll talk then." I strode down the corridor with my skin feeling hot in the face. It aggravated me how he pretends to care. When someone asks you, "A penny for your thoughts", and you put your two cents in, what happens to the other penny? It makes no cents, does it? I brushed past Corin without a word and slammed my door shut. Just me, myself, and I—exactly how I like it. Don't mistake me for a loner, because I love other people's company…just in small doses. Alone, I can be my own woman without bothering with tradition or the rules of someone else's game. Aro can bark orders all he wants, but in my own room, the wolves are silent and the moon is howling.
The rush of raining water echoed from his chamber two hallways across from mine. He showed up at my door an hour later with his hair damp and a fine-toothed comb in his hand. "Buona sera il mio amore," he purred as he swept inside. He thought his Italian phrases were such a romantic turn-on. That deal got old since the first year, let alone the other few thousand. Only what seemed to replace the once existing blossoming romance was now an air of abandonment, almost as if we hadn't even been married at all. He sat down on my decorative bed and made himself at home, always combing those long wiry strands of ebony hair.
"You comb and comb and comb, Aro; I'm surprised it doesn't all fall out." Even from his sitting place, his eyes still twinkled condescendingly.
"I need to keep it tangle-less, darling. You know that." I averted my gaze so that he wouldn't see my eye-roll.
"There hasn't been a tangle in it since 1000 B.C.," I retorted casually. Then, with a little push of the envelope added, "You know that." He didn't look at all amused that I was winning his game. But as with most games with men, it's never just a game when you're winning.
"You never know, dear." He finally put down his comb and jumped up to lock me in an embrace. If I could still breathe, his arms would have already squeezed my lungs out. Not even a newborn could break one of his forceful bear hugs. "I have a surprise for you," he grinned, pulling out a plastic bag and planting it in my hands. I turned it upside down on the bed and at least a hundred dollars of knitting and crocheting supplies tumbled out. I could have laughed out loud.
"How old do you think I am?" I chuckled playfully. His face lit up as he laughed along.
"More than one hundred." I looked through the pile of yarn rolls; there must have been over nine thousand different color combinations. I couldn't even begin to think what I would do with all this yarn.
"Are you going to get me a cat or something?" He let out a shrill cackle that verified that he wasn't taking me seriously.
"No, silly. Cats are for lonely ladies."
"Grey tabby, please," I muttered under my breath. My undertone did not go unnoticed.
"Is there something you wish to tell me, my dear?" My eyes froze open as I searched for a smooth recovery.
"No, my doting husband. Thank you for the gifts." That seemed to satisfy him. He flashed me an affectionate beam and kissed my cheek before taking his leave. I returned his facial affection until he turned the corner. And just like that, I was alone again. "Oh my amour...How did it come to this"? I sighed heavily under my breath. Well, I'm not entirely alone, for I do have one other tower-mate. My neck craned both ways to check for Corin and then I proceeded to pay Athenodora a visit in her solitary room. I drummed my fingernails against the wood of her door; it was our secret code, for anyone else would simply knock. The doorknob turned and she welcomed me with a stunning smile.
"Sulpicia!" she exclaimed in surprise. "How nice of you to drop by. Come in, come in!" I gladly entered and joined her on the single bench cushion in front of her lone window. Athenodora was too peppy for my taste, but she's the only company in the tower I have. Being the wife of Caius, the most ruthless sadist that has ever been my displeasure to know, it was evident that Corin was pulling her strings. "How are you and Aro?"
"Not too well, I'd imagine. He tries so hard to please me, yet doesn't do enough for me. Or rather, doesn't let me do anything for me." My dear, naïve friend shrugged it off.
"Know what I think, Sulpicia? Never learn to do anything: if you don't learn, you'll always find someone else to do it for you." She smartly nodded once as if she just shared a flawless plan to end world hunger.
"That's easy for you to say. I just feel like Aro doesn't give me his full attention anymore. His work consumes him like a Venus flytrap and I'm second-best in his eyes." She patted my shoulder comfortingly and a mischievous smirk appeared on her lips.
"You should annoy him." I raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"Why?"
"Because it'll tell him you want his attention." I chuckled at the notion of me making a fool of myself just to catch his passing glance. No man is worth crawling on the earth, so walk like a woman, I must. Still, my curiosity was pending.
"How am I going to annoy him enough for him to drop what he's doing and actually talk to me?" She leaned over and whispered her scheme into my ear. Her dirty, brilliant scheme.
Half an hour later, I snuck down to the music room and held a long horn-like instrument to my mouth. When I was certain Aro was nearby, I took in a deep breath of air and blew a continuous stream into the horn. A blaring buzzing sound exploded into the room and set my teeth on edge. Athenodora was right; the national anthem of Hell is played on the vuvuzela. "What the Devil is going on in here?!" Speaking of Satan, Aro threw open the doors and eyed the instrument in my hands. "Sulpicia, what are you doing in here, love? And what diabolical instrument of torture is that?"
"It's called a vuvuzela, Aro. It's so full of African culture, isn't it?" He swiped the horn from my hands and cracked it in two over his knee.
"Not anymore. I was on my way to debrief our upper guard on a new mission when I heard this obnoxiousness. Why don't you go find someone else to play with?" He draped an arm around my shoulder and ushered me out before turning on his heel to finish his business. I gave his back a stink eye and left to find someone to talk to. So much for quality lover time.
I never told anyone about my feelings towards my somewhat struggling marriage, but I figured that it wasn't a very hard thing to pick up on as Aro's usual past habits of showering romantic favors towards me were definitely known about in the castle; they were actually quite impossible to miss, and for them to slowly disappear must of caused some questioning between the guard.
Why his small army of followers got more attention from him than I did, I shall never know. Maybe it's because they have special powers and I didn't; maybe it's how they idolize him whereas I demand to be treated as an equal; maybe it's just because I'm so valuable to his own ego that he refuses to take any chances. Vampires only mate once and to lose your mate forever damages your soul and mind. The guard that fights his battles are disposable, replaceable, and aren't worth more to him than his collection of classical paintings. But even Aro has his top favorites he calls his "upper guard". The not-so-special of the coven is appropriately labeled the "lower guard", which is comprised of vampires with exceptional abilities that are of minimal value in the eyes of the leaders. However, they do make good companions whenever the upper guard is preoccupied with my husband. I entered the throne room where I knew I'd find one of the lower guard to converse with.
A young vampire who looked about seventeen was down on all fours wiping the stained blood off of the marble flooring. Anyone passing by would have paid no attention to him, which was what he liked. I sighed softly and crossed the room to Aro's throne. His head perked up and I felt his eyes scan the side of my face. He could distinguish anyone nearby just by the sound and rhythm of their footsteps, but by looking at one's face he'll pick up what mood someone is in. I sat down in my husband's chair, crossing one leg casually over the other. "Hello, Patches."
"Good evening, Mistress Sulpicia," came the immediate response. He stood up, gave me a quick bow, and moved on to the next stain in his line of vision. My gaze followed him.
"How are you today?" He lifted his head just enough to keep one eye on me and another on his cleaning cloth.
"I'm alright, thank you. And yourself?"
"A bit lonely, actually. Would you like to play a game with me?" He frowned a little though it only showed on one side. Before Aro found him during one of his travels, Patches lived in constant fear of abuse. The severe marks of his human life carried physical and mental scars into his vampire existence, one of which paralyzed half of his mouth in a permanent grin.
"I must not; I have to work. My apologies." He quickened his pace and started on another stain. Vampires can be so messy and careless that the ones who clean up after them are easily taken for granted.
"Perhaps afterward, then?" He nodded his promise and finished up his task while I patiently waited. He moved with an extra ounce of awkwardness, for in his mind he was keeping me waiting and therefore doing a disservice to my husband. He put away his supplies and met my eyes when he was ready.
"What would you like to play? Cards, a board game?" I thought for a moment and came up with a fun pastime we could do wherever we were at.
"Do you have any paper?" He gave the affirmative and left briefly to collect some spare pieces of parchment. When he returned, I sat down on the clean floor and motioned for him to do the same. "We're going to fold the corners up into huge right triangles and cut off the excess so that we're left with perfect squares." Patches and I folded and sliced until we had beautiful square pieces ideal for origami animals. I recalled the instructions verbatim from the books Aro gave me and soon we had a delicate menagerie.
"They're just as adorable as real animals," he beamed up at me. "What would you like to do with them?"
"You can have them," I smiled back. "Consider it a reward for all you do." His large ruby eyes glistened as if he was about to cry.
"Thank you, Mistress; I'll take really good care of them!" I helped him gather the paper zoo into his arms and we parted ways—he to his room on the lowest floor, and I to my chamber in the highest tower. I planned to reveal my secret to my husband, just to show him that he isn't as safe-guarded as he thinks. My mind had been made. I would no longer allow to be forgotten about. I would do everything and anything in my power to get mine and Aro's love affair back to the way it used to be, no matter if he liked it or not and how long it would take. Until then, I knew I was going to be okay, for I have my castle friends and another vuvuzela on the way.
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