Chapter 3
"Bonjour!" called a fat man holding a French flag near the doorway of the airport and the three of us tried carefully to steer clear of him. Granted, everyone was staring at us. Sulpicia had dawned her faux fox scarf, glittery red dress and pointed sunglasses, making her look like the richest snob in France. Athenadora followed behind in a corset/dress combo and heels and I was in the back, in my leather and boots. My style hadn't changed since living with the Romanians.
As we waded through the crowd of French people, I spotted a gift shop nearby. I slipped away from the two blonde beauties long enough to search through the shop for a bit.
Almost at once, I spotted a pretty postcard on a rack nearby and, after checking for Sulpicia, I creeped over and picked it off the shelf, smiling. It was covered in flowers and had the Eifel Tower on it. It said 'Greetings from Paris!' I chuckled at the front and walked to the cashier. Realizing I didn't know a word of French, I quickly pulled a marble sized diamond from my pocket and left it on the counter. As Aro would put so casually, "Diamonds are currency in every country."
The cashier gave me a shocked grin and, to my surprise, kissed both my cheeks before rushing away from the stand shouting French words I didn't understand. I assumed he was happy and moved on. I folded the postcard and stuffed it into my pocket, planning to write on it and then give it to Marcus when I saw him next, to show him I didn't forget him while I was away. I missed him so much.
Sulpicia grasped my arm and to my horror, dragged me through the airport by my arm the whole way, not stopping until we were outside and near the limo she'd called for us. She shoved us into the car and hopped in after us, giving me a mean glare, "The sun was coming up. We were almost seen."
I hadn't noticed. I was just so absorbed with getting that postcard that the time hadn't really been important to me. I decided then and there that I would get a postcard from every major city and country I went to so I could show Marcus when I got back. I'd write on them too, love notes, well wishes, things that will remind him of how much I love him. Once we got to the hotel Sulpicia had booked a room in, I took the postcard out and grabbed a pencil, beginning to write.
Dearest Marcus...
Nah, too formal. It doesn't sound like me. I erased that first line and started over.
Dear Marcus...
There we go. Much better.
I am so sorry I left on such short notice. Sulpicia convinced me to take a vacation before... well... before we got married so I had a chance to be my own person before I became yours.
I blushed deeply at being called Marcus's. It was true though. Once we were married, he'd have me, mind, body and soul. I took a deep breath.
I miss you everyday. Everything reminds me of you, the children and my brothers. I even saw a mime on the street today and it reminded me of Aro!
I giggled at the joke and hoped that it would make Marcus smile.
It is so hard to be without you. It takes every bit of strength I have not to run to Volterra, back to you. I will not be long, love. Please wait for me.
Love, Styx
There, done. I folded the postcard again and put it in my back pocket, for safe keeping. While Athenadora and Sulpicia got settled, I flipped on the TV. The Volturi castle didn't have many TVs and it was rare that I got to see things like 'Spongebob Squarepants' and 'Doctor Who'. I took a deep breath again and put my hands behind my head, preparing to relax...
"Up, up, up! Time to go see the Eiffel Tower! The Mona Lisa! Time to go site seeing!" Sulpicia shouted and I nearly fell out of bed. I groaned and wondered how Aro could live with someone like that. I smiled to myself; despite Sulpicia's dislike for Aro, they were very much the same. They just got excited over different things. I sat up and groaned again, "Well, let's go. The Eiffel Tower isn't going to climb itself!"
~M/S~
Demetri returned to the Volturi throne room, his expression a bit nervous, "My lords, I apologize but... I lost their scent at the airport. There is no telling where they are now." Aro's face was calm, composed, he knew it wasn't Demetri's fault. Caius looked ticked but didn't say anything. Marcus fumed and drummed his fingers on the armrest of his throne impatiently. Demetri gulped as Marcus's blazing eyes settled on him, "We... we were also unable to find the Romanians, Stefan and Vladimir, my lords."
"What?" Caius stood. "Have they fled?"
"We do not know," Demetri said shakily. "They left no trail. No notes. Only Jane and Alec." Now there was something surprising, Aro thought. Why would they leave Alec and Jane behind unless... Aro smirked, they are going after them.
Caius's eyes flitted to Aro as the eccentric vampire smirked and Caius arched an eyebrow in curiosity. Aro waved him off, "I am sure they just fled the country in sadness or something, brothers. We shall scour the globe for them if we must." The thought of the guard searching every nook and cranny for his mate made Marcus smile just a bit. The sooner she was in his arms, the better.
"Until then, brothers, we have another matter to discuss," Aro settled into his throne and crossed his legs, "It seems as though our good friend Carlisle has created another newborn, though sixteen years have passed without consent."
Caius smirked because he knew what was coming, "How rude. What are we going to do about that, Aro?"
"I'm afraid we must visit them once again... on friendlier terms this time, I assure you," Aro said when he saw the maliciously evil look on Caius's face. "He has commited no crime, therefore we are merely there to check up on the clan, visit for a day or two. See how our little Isabella and her child are doing. It has been a long while since we have seen them. I must say, the child should be fully grown by now. I wonder who she resembles more."
Once Aro had trailed off on his own thoughts, Marcus sulked again, his anger distinguished with hurt and meloncholy. He hated going through this a second time. When Didyme had died, he'd been like this for nearly a hundred years and the sadness had lingered eternally it seemed. When Styx had first arrived, she'd lifted his spirits only a fraction and even then, he'd cracked a smile more in the six months she'd been training than in all his previous miserable days put together.
Without Styx... he didn't know how he'd live.
Dramatic Marcus is dramatic. :P
~Penny
P.S. You may have noticed that my AN are shorter in this than they were in the first story. You see, I'm lazy and I don't want to have to read this over again so I just put something about the last few lines, unless it's super important.
