As introduction to any reader: this is my first piece of posted fan fiction and was originally part of a much longer piece I've written. It is based in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Universe and I take no credit for her characters but others in this story are my own. They are Gaius - a 2000 year old vampire originally from Piza, Camilla - a vampire with a very special skill ( who really didn't like me sharing her story), Azrael - a guard emember from Volterra, Isolde - Gaius' wife/companin since 735 AD approx in Scotland. Hope you enjoy this one shot tale.
As Camilla continued the piano piece, I let my mind wander to the last time Azrael and I had worked together. It had been after the great famines in Germany and Western Europe. My periodic services to the Royals had been less than my decision and helping Azrael was not really my favorite thing. That night had been no exception. Camilla loved him but didn't see that he was always less than faithful. Like many of our kind it was more a matter of opportunity than attachment.
Isolde and I had been hunting in the Italian Alps when the message came from the Royals, calling me to serve for a short while in the court.
"Why now?" Isolde scolded. "We've just gotten this hunting territory settled." She tapped her foot impatiently. Hunting during the famines had been difficult – a lot of travel and sometimes no suitable food. We had even resorted to hunting animals instead of humans sometimes. On other occasions we had found it necessary to fight for hunting rights. Now, just when humans were becoming available and we had established a hunting area, was the most inconvenient time to be asked to serve.
"I know, my dearest love, but, whatever the reason, I cannot decline. To refuse to serve would be a very costly mistake," I hesitated explaining to her. Being assigned to guard Marcus while he was away from Volterra would have been an easy task most of the time. He never left Volterra after the Romanian war but Marcus was suddenly willing to leave the city to hunt. Aro had no illusions about his former brother-in-law's desire to hunt and didn't want him to stray too far from the coven home. "Perhaps you could take this opportunity to go and visit with Raphael's mate, Simone. You know she would enjoy your company. It will only be a little while. I have Aros' word."
"Umph. Just like the last time, during the War of Immortal Children?" she frowned. That separation had been a topic of discussion between us frequently in the past. "Well, I do like having the chance to see the city and hunt among the people along the coast," she finally sighed.
"This is just going as guards to Marcus while he travels and hunts. It has been nearly a thousand years since he last left Volterra and he wants to travel a bit, to see some of the changes in the human world."
"Well, I do feel sorry for him, stuck away inside the city all the time and no companion. I cannot imagine his loneliness all these centuries," she put her arms around my neck and pulled us together. I could only look into her eyes and feel myself slipping away into her passion.
"I will miss you, my love," I leaned down to kiss her neck, cheek and lips. "I will be sure that this hunt lasts as little time as possible." Her lips returned my kiss with increased desire. No words were important after that.
I remembered standing in the court of the Royals.
"Marcus, you know that we always bring our meals here. There is very little that we can't do here, either. I am concerned, brother, that this adventuring takes you away from our good company," the senior Royal said consolingly. "I know that since Didymes' death in the Carpathians you have spent much of your time in mourning. Perhaps, some time away will be good. I have asked Gaius and Azrael to go with you. Just so you are not alone, of course. If you need anything you can always send one of them back here and we will come as quickly as possible. They can help you find the best and safest places to hunt so take advantage of their skills."
"Thank you," was Marcus' only reply. His deep, solemn voice was barely above a whisper as he bowed elegantly and slowly left the room
"Gaius, Azrael – do not leave my brother to his own devices. I do not want him wandering off by himself among the humans," Aro growled sharply once he was sure that Marcus was out of hearing range. "Nothing is to miss your attention. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, Master," we replied in unison. We quickly followed after Marcus.
At first we traveled and hunted as the nomads among us choose to hunt. It was quiet most of the time and there were times when Marcus wanted to be alone. Most often he wanted to try and understand the relationships between the humans he watched along the way. It fascinated him that human bonds between mated pairs could be so strong. Bonds between humans rarely achieved the level he had experienced while he had been with Didyme, but the ones that did made him even more curious, perhaps even envious.
We had been hunting in Western Russia and the Polish borderlands when he came to Azrael and me about following a nomadic group of humans into Germany. Eastern parts of the area had been decimated during the famine years but slowly the cities there were starting to rebuild. Humans were nearly as nomadic as vampires but for only slightly different reasons. Most often they traveled to find better farming or hunting areas but nearly just as often they traveled to find new homes, with better living conditions. Their fragile bodies needed the warmth of a moderate climate or some form of housing to protect it. Because of the bonds between humans they usually traveled as family or clan groups. Those who traveled alone, traders or mercenaries, were the easiest to take down. Following a group, as Marcus asked, would be annoying because it meant that we would have to be more selective about our prey.
"This is foolishness," Azrael complained. "Why should we have to stay with Marcus? He is one of the Royals and has equal standing with his brothers – if he gives permission for us to hunt elsewhere why shouldn't we do it? We've been following this band of humans now for too long! They are so slow – stopping every few hours to rest their frail bodies. What is this to us? Why do we have to travel this way?"
"It is our duty to do as we have been asked," I replied as I had previously when he made the same complaint.
"Duty does not include this!" He hissed as he bared his teeth in anger.
"Have you looked over the group and not found anyone worth the taking?"
"Among them there is a girl. Her scent nearly drives me mad but, she is always surrounded by so many others that I cannot get her alone. When she is alone, who should show up but Marcus. He's always fawning over her, walking with her, counseling her. Pretending to be a saint is one thing but acting like one is another!"
"Do you think that he intends to take her himself?" I asked looking at him incredulously "It's not wise to interfere with the Royals in their pursuit of their meals or pleasures. I've already seen too many of our kind die in that act."
"If he doesn't act soon, it won't matter either way. I have heard the plans of the humans for this girl. They are taking her to Germany and the nearest Catholic leader. She refuses to swear allegiance to the Church and the group is afraid that an evil spirit possesses her. If they only knew the truth! Marcus wants her for himself, alright, but not to kill and feed."
"This is a dangerous thing you're telling me," I lowered my voice as I could hear Marcus approaching us from the human campsite.
"Azrael, Gaius – I'm pleased that you are so close at hand," Marcus said as he walked up and lowered the cowl on his hooded robes. His voice, usually so somber and quiet seemed almost cheerful. His face seemed alight with some secret. "I'm sorry I have kept you from your hunting today. I have learned that there is a village just a short distance away and the humans will be taking Camilla there in the next few days. We'll be able to hunt then, as it is a much bigger grouping of humans than we've encountered previously. Do not worry if I am not always with you. I will be accompanying the girl, at her request."
"What about all the humans you'll encounter? You need to feed soon, too," I said, all the while thinking about the injunction from Aro. I did not want to cross him.
"I shall feed soon enough – long before we leave here," Marcus answered. "I have some other business I need to attend to before that, however. What I need is for the two of you to keep watch over Camilla for me while I hunt. I may be gone a day or two but I need the girl to be kept safe."
"Marcus, it is not my place to question this, but I have some concerns," I began hesitantly. "Just what is this human to you?"
Azrael growled lowly. I could sense his body tense ever so slightly.
Marcus sighed and a brief look of sorrow passed over his ancient features. "You know that I have been alone a very long time. None among our kind has caught my interest and so I have stayed in Volterra, alone among the Family. It has been a time of distractions for me but I have been looking for another mate. Now this girl interests me. She is not bound to those she is with and seems to almost be from not just another grouping but a different place and time. Yet there are, among them, those who say she is their child. The relationships confuse me in their complexity. The clan fears her and her strange ways – sometimes calling her a witch, sometimes a person possessed of a familiar spirit. Thus they are taking her to the Church for judgment.
When I have visited with her she is a simple woman but there is something about her which I want – very much." Marcus paused, watching our faces and especially Azraels'. Then he said commandingly, "I know that her scent attracts you more than any other, Azrael. The pull you feel is not unnatural among our kind. Remember, however, I am only going to be gone for a short while. Do not allow any harm to come to Camilla. She will only think that I have given her my guards to keep her company until I return. Do you understand my instructions?"
"Yes, Master," we replied, bowing deeply as Marcus left. No matter what Aros' instructions had been, I could not refuse to obey Marcus in this matter. The choice was to do as I was asked or to reveal Aros' intentions – to keep his brother under the roof of the Royals at all costs.
"At last, I'll have access to this helpless one," Azrael snarled once Marcus was out of hearing.
"Didn't you hear the instructions Marcus gave you? Have you lost your mind?"
"I don't fear the Royals as you do. I've lived among them longer and have no fear of what they might do to me," he boasted. "Come, I have things to do that cannot wait." He ran ahead of me towards the girl's tent.
Camilla was about 18 when we met her but she seemed much older. Slender with cat-like features, dark eyes and long dark, wild-looking hair, she was chained to a wooden stake in the middle of the tent. A rough rug was all that the humans had given her for cover from the cold dirt floor. Her eyes were deep set with dark rings and bruises across her cheeks making them look even darker. A deep cut across her upper lip was proof of previous treatment by her captors. She was dressed in what remained of a long black tunic. As we approached her she shrank away from us and crouched against the floor in a submissive manner.
Azrael seemed to hesitate slightly before he approached her. "Girl, we are not here to hurt you," Azrael spoke softly. I had never heard him talk that way to a human before. "We have been sent by Father Marcus to protect you while he is away on business for a few days."
"We are his personal guards and he commanded us to watch over you."
"Are you like Father Marcus? Are you also vengeance takers?" Camilla asked. She drew back her lips in a grimace and I could see her four long incisors, like the fangs of a wild animal. They startled me because my last encounter with a fanged creature had been with a Carpathian wolf-creature sent to kill me. Surely Marcus would have remembered that battle and avoided the girl if she was one of them.
"What do you mean?" Azrael asked.
"Marcus says that he comes from those in Italy - for vengeance against others who pervert truth. Yet the clan thinks that I am the perversion, the evil one. They have tried to kill me by beating, by starvation and drowning. Each time I return to this place, still alive. Now they are taking me to the Bishop of Brandenburg for judgment. They say that he will burn me and be done with it." The last sentence was said with such despair and dread that I could barely stand it. Even among the Royals, this barbarous behavior would not have been tolerated. Those who broke our laws met swift and sure punishment.
Azrael crouched down by the girl to ask, "What do they say your crime is, to do this to you?" I could see the pain and desire for this human expressed in his black, hungry eyes. Yet he withheld himself from her. When he had told me that her scent attracted him like no other I had expected him to take her at the first opportunity.
"I don't know."
"They've not told you?" I asked with surprise.
"They say that I am possessed because each time they try kill me I escape, only to show up here again, tied to this stake. I don't know how it happens. Father Marcus says that he'll figure it out and help me. He's such a kind man so I try to believe him but I'm afraid it's no use. I am cursed." The girl began to cry softly, covering her face with her hands.
"Don't fear, girl," Azrael said as he stood up. "I need to talk to you outside." He looked in my direction and I nodded briefly. Turning back to the girl he said, "We won't be far."
Outside the tent we lowered our voices so that Camilla would not hear us.
"We need to take her away from here," he growled. "I need for her to be alone."
"What are you asking – permission to take this child's life? This is insanity! Marcus will be back soon," I interrupted him. I didn't want to fight over her but I was prepared to challenge his decisions.
"But I think we should try!" Azrael was adamant. "We cannot protect her adequately here without revealing ourselves to the other humans around her. And if Marcus comes back to take her and fails, it will risk his exposure as well."
I considered his argument. Aros' command had included the unspoken charge to protect Marcus. "Very well, but we are charged with protecting her – NOT eating her!"
Azrael laughed – it sounded bitter and hollow. "No problem – yet."
I quickly returned to the inside of the tent. Camilla lay on the small rug, her body curved into a ball with her arms around her knees. Her hair hung in tangled knots covering her face. A low moan escaped the girl's lips as I briefly touched her shoulder.
"Camilla, we need to take you away from here. Do you agree to go with us?" I asked leaning towards her to let my breath reach her. Perhaps it would calm her as it usually did our prey. I rested my hand on her back.
Again I heard the low moan from her. Then there was a soft sound, like air leaving a drinking bladder slowly. Without warning, the air seemed to shimmer around us. I quickly looked away from the girl and at Azrael. The room seemed to be filled with ripples of water, as if we were under a clear, running water cascade. There was an increase in the rippling effect and, suddenly, both Azrael and I were standing outside the tent.
Azrael again laughed his hollow laugh and said, "No problem – yet."
I stood frozen. Azrael looked at me with a strange, stone-like stillness.
He said, "I had seen this before but didn't believe it. Were it not for my memory, I wouldn't believe it now."
. "I'm not sure that we can take her away," was my only comment.
My memory returned to the present as Camilla spoke.
"I'm sorry to interrupt you and I could see you lost in thought. I am reminded of those days, too. Marcus was very angry that someone else had turned me and not him. If Aro had not stepped forward and approved my gift I certainly would not be here now. Marcus is still bitter but tolerates us because he needs Azrael's hunting and defending skills and my time shifting ability. Thank you again," she seemed to understand my thoughts.
"Aro has his reasons above the straight forward ones to let both you and Azrael live. There was nothing about that night that he didn't know from Azrael, you, or me. However, he is not the forgiving leader he seems, either," I replied, frowning. I knew that Aro wasn't about to let Marcus get away from the Royal family with ease, if ever. It had been Chelsea's task to keep him content to stay with the Royals all the years after the loss of his wife. That the events of the night had not gone from peace to battle had been to her credit. She hovered closely by Marcus, at Aro's request, to keep the emotions calm and stable. Marcus would have killed Azrael for sure if Aro had not just given permission for him to take the Newborn as his own. Aro had no desire to let Marcus drift away with a new companion. He didn't relish the loss of his best hunter/tracker in Azrael, either. Now that he could claim a "time shifter" to his collection of Royal finds, everything was working out to his advantage.
When Camilla finally decided to stay in Germany to keep Azrael company during his hunting times and to develop her own home in the Berlin area, Aro was disappointed that he couldn't persuade her to stay in Volterra except on the rare occasions he called her to his service. She had loved Marcus but was devoted to Azrael, much to his surprise. Perhaps Azrael was the first who had not been afraid of her gifts instead of just curious.
We finally moved and walked back into the tent.
"Child," I began cautiously, "can you hear me?" She still lay curled up on the dirty rug but appeared to be sleeping. No sound escaped from her except for her heartbeat and quiet breathing.
"Camilla," I repeated gently. I knew that we could easily break her chains and take her away before any other human would even be aware of us but I hesitated. "Girl, can you hear me? We want to protect you but we cannot do that here. There are too many others who would do you harm and Father Marcus has charged us to care for you until he returns. Can you help us?"
She looked up at me. Her eyes let me know that she still didn't trust us but she said, "You're not afraid of me?"
"No, there are others much more frightening than you."
"Then I will come. If you can release my chain but don't try to touch me," she answered but her tone was wary.
"Ah," was Azrael's only reply.
It was all too soon that Azrael and I realized the Marcus had not just gone hunting. When the sun set and rose again twice we knew there was something else to his absence. Azrael and I had moved the girl to an abandoned stone cottage, miles from the camp. I had stolen her some clothing and he had put a fire in the hearth to warm her. It was not like him to be so considerate.
"What are you doing? The girl belongs to Marcus and he made that abundantly clear. You'll die at the hands of Aro if anything happens to Marcus because of this."
"I have decided to change her myself," was his only comment. "When Marcus returns she will already be an asset to me. Her strengths will have part with my strengths and the Royals will not be able to do anything about it."
"You're a fool Azrael," I said dryly.
"Girl, Camilla," he turned to the girl as she stood by the fireplace and cooking pot," do you fear me or that I would hurt you?"
"No, Sire. I've come to enjoy your company."
"Are you afraid of Marcus, if I make you what I am?"
"No." was her firm but quiet reply.
"Have I told you about this change and made it clear that it will be painful for you?"
"Yes, sire, you have, but I'm not afraid." Camilla stirred the kettle hanging over the fire.
Azrael let a low chuckle escape his lips as I continued to frown. This was a decision that I could not support but I also understood the intent: to protect Marcus at all costs. I just didn't want to be present when Marcus returned. I could already sense a fight would occur.
It had been five days since Marcus had left to "go hunting". Azrael and I took turns leaving to hunt so that the girl was always under guard. I had barely returned from my most recent meal when I realized that something was different about the cottage. Instead of the usual quiet, calm there seemed to be an air of tension. I stopped and listened intently.
"What have you done?" I could hear Marcus' voice questioning angrily.
"Only what you had planned for the girl," Azrael's strained reply came to me.
"Brother, this is not what was expected," Marcus said.
"Oh, well, I know that things don't always go as planned," the familiar sound of Aro's soft voice answered. "Humans are not trustworthy. Azrael, I did expect better of you, however."
In the background I could hear the heartbeat of Camilla as it struggled to maintain a steady beating. I could also hear her low moaning, as her struggle against Azrael's venom was lost. It was rapidly apparent that Azrael had committed his promise to the girl. It was also apparent that Marcus had brought back Aro with him from his "hunt". Waiting outside the door would not serve me any further advantage. If the usual guard came with them, my presence would only add to the number that they could destroy. I walked into the cottage. I extended my hand to Aro in greeting.
"Gaius, I'm so pleased to see you again. Perhaps you can shed some light on the events of the past few days. My brother is very distressed that Azrael has chosen to change this girl instead of waiting for him to return." He bent his head slightly as I shared the events of the previous days, including the events of taking the girl from the encampment.
"Amazing!" he laughed. "Azrael, how have you been able to change her without worrying about the time shift?"
"I only needed her cooperation first, to explain to her what would happen then to have her let me approach," he replied. "She knows how to control what she does."
Marcus knelt by the girl, watching her change. His face was sad, "My child," he whispered. "I had looked forward to our time together. No one since my Didyme has caught my attention other than you. Brother, I know that it is Azrael who has changed her but I desire this one for myself." Marcus looked at Aro with great longing.
"Patience, Marcus, perhaps she will choose to come back to Volterra with us instead of staying with Azrael. I know you still grieve for your lost love, my sister." Aro didn't even look at Marcus as he spoke. "It is her choice how she will hunt now. Only a few minutes more..." his voice trailed off to a gentle whisper.