Okay, this shows way more about Styx than I expected. I am very happy with how the story's turning out so far. I hope you like it as much as I do. Btw, if you couldn't tell, I suck at leaving Author's notes. :P Enjoy!

Chapter 3

I sulked, the memories of the previous day streaming through my head like a constant movie. It was one of the things about being a vampire that I hated. The memories. They never left you. There were good memories, like meeting Vladimir and seeing Carlisle after such a long time, and there were bad memories, like fighting Felix and feeling like a monster for being in a fight like that. I'm not a bad person, or at least that's what I tell myself every day in hopes it comes true.

I rolled over onto my side, the wind blowing my black hair into my eyes. I wiped it away and sighed, sitting up. After the fight, and out of embarrassment, I'd just leapt up onto the stadium top and watched boredly as vampires, one after the other, filed out of the building and ran away to their homes. Oddly, when the Volturi passed, I didn't see Marcus or Aro with them. It was rather odd considering they always had the guard with them.

I casually slid down the wall, rubbing my butt to check if I'd ripped my jeans. Nope, they were good. I zipped up my black hoodie over my gray t-shirt and slinked back into the stadium surprised to see Aro, Marcus, Stefan, Vladimir and Carlisle all talking to Rick at the same time. I caught a few of their questions.

"Do you have any idea where she'd go?"

"No idea. She's a nomad. She travels alone," answered Rick to an exasperated Carlisle.

"Where was she last?"

Rick shrugged at the animated Volturi leader, "I think she was in New York but that was like a month ago."

"What is she like?"

"Well, Mr. Marcus, sir, she's kinda... a loner. She uh, never stuck around much. She likes having time to herself... then again, she's told me before that she's lonely and that staying by herself too long drives her a bit nuts," Rick admitted sheepishly.

"What are the chances she will join our coven?" asked Vladimir fiercely and Aro scoffed, "Like she would join your coven when she has been offered a special spot by my side as part of my guard!"

"I just want her safe."

"I know, Carlisle, my old friend. I assure you, if she joins us, she will be treated as part of the family," Aro reassured and it was Stefan's turn to scoff, "Right, you mean she will be added to your little collection of vampire prizes. No, if she joins us, she will be treated as our equal, we will not treat her as a servant but a sister and family member."

As the five men argued, I held back the urge to giggle. Oh, it was so cute that they were fighting over me. I'd never been fought over before. As they argued, I considered their propositions. Aro wanted me to join his coven but I'd be treated as one of his 'guard', same as Felix who'd recently been put through Hell just to please his masters. Stefan and Vladimir had a good point. I'd rather be their equal than be a 'lower class citizen', as Stefan colorfully put it.

"She will be a sister to us too, Stefan. Do not worry about that," Marcus droned and for some reason, Stefan believed him. He'd never believe Aro though. He'd sooner bathe in cement than believe one word Aro said. I smirked and rolled my eyes, walking into the open and tapping my foot impatiently. One by one, the men turned and smiled at the sight of me.

I grinned smugly and bent forward, putting my hands on my knees, "Aw, you guys are so cute, fighting over me like I'm the new shiny toy." I giggled and skipped forward, acting cute... for just a moment. Suddenly, serious Styx returned, "State your business... and I shall consider it."

Vladimir took a step forward, smiling at me proudly, "We would like you to join our coven. You shall have equal benefits to us and we shall consider you our equal." Over his shoulder, Stefan nodded in agreement. "We have a castle in Romania, up in the mountains. The view is beautiful and we have every opportunity in the world to go explore without the threat of discovery. Nearby towns provide food and entertainment. If there is anything you desire, you name it and we will try our best to get it for you."

I rubbed my chin in thought, "Hmm... very tempting boys, very tempting. Aro, what do you and Marcus think?"

Aro scoffed, as I knew he would, at their, in his opinion, petty excuse for a proposition and waved his hand, "I can give you all that and more. Our castle is filled to the brim with priceless jewels, ancient paintings and enough books that you would not be able to read in three lifetimes as a human. If you desire it, consider it done, no trying, just doing. You will have your pick of many, many Italian men as your mate and, if you so wish it, we will allow you your own vehicle, of the best quality, of course."

"Buying love doesn't work with me, Aro, but I like the way you think," I said slightly impressed. With one thought in mind, I pressed my fingertips together and asked to no one in particular, "How do you feel about pets?"

This struck everyone as an odd question. Aro answered first, "I adore puppies and such but Caius hates wolves so I am afraid if you have a dog, it will have to be placed someplace far from the castle. Everything else is fine; goldfish, horses, goats, guinea pigs, rats, birds, anything... except cats." Aro shuddered in disgust, "I absolutely hate cats."

I arched an eyebrow at him, "I have a cat..."

"Can I see the cute widdle thing?" asked Aro cheerfully and both my eyebrows rose in confusion, "I thought you hated cats." Aro shrugged, "Well, I do but I should not judge before I get to know something, even the feline disaster I am sure you are going to show me."

I wrinkled my nose at him and zipped out to my car nearby. I lifted my hairless cat from the car and cooed, "Oh, it's okay, Vladdy. Mommy will keep you safe."

My shoulders bunched up in embarrassment when their loud laughter reached my ears. I put Vladimir, my hairless cat, into my sweatshirt so he wouldn't freeze. As I walked into the stadium, everyone but Vladimir and Marcus was laughing. Vladimir had a grim look of distaste on his face and faced me with his nose wrinkled, "You named your cat after me?"

I snickered a little, "I named him Vladimir before I met you, dear. Don't flatter yourself."

I unzipped the top of my sweatshirt and Vlad poked his head out, staring at the new people and producing a distressed meow. I rubbed his head, "Oh, honey, it's okay. They won't hurt you. Mommy won't let them." I looked back up at the guys and laughed out loud.

Aro's face looked priceless, his face wrinkled up in disgust and his mouth turned down in the most forced frown I've ever seen. He stared at the cat and then at the floor, "I see... and he is permanent?"

I narrowed my eyes angrily at Aro and growled, "Yes."

I heard someone coo from beside me and I was surprised to see Stefan grinning at Vlad and rubbing his ears. Vladimir, still a little miffed from the name, was peering at the cat with what seemed like quiet interest. The corners of his mouth perked up, "He is cute."

Aro's nose wrinkled further, "Cute?! That thing is-!"

In a flash, I handed Vlad to Stefan, reached forward, grasped Aro's shirt and proceeded to glare into his eyes as deep as I could, dragging him down so he had to look up at me. His eyes showed bits of fear and defiance and he stared up at me, waiting for me to speak. I narrowed my eyes in anger, "Vlad is not a thing. He is a cat. He is my cat and he will not be insulted in my presence. If you do not like him then I suppose I'll stay with a coven that does."

With that, I back trailed to Stefan and took Vlad from him, cuddling my feline friend to me. I sent a hurt look over at Aro, who'd straightened up and was busy fixing his creased tie. Vladimir finally got over the whole name thing and booped Vlad on the nose, laughing when Vlad blinked at him curiously. I smiled, "You know... I think I'm gonna go with you guys."

Vladimir and Stefan highfived, grinning at each other and speaking in fast Romanian that I couldn't understand. I hugged Vlad to me, softening my grip when he protested weakly, and turned to Carlisle, "Carlisle... what do you think?" Carlisle had been my first real friend, along with the entire Cullen clan. His opinion mattered a lot to me.

He blinked at me and smiled, "I only want you happy. Make sure this is really what you want to do and stick with it. If it turns out that it wasn't as great as you thought, you can always come back and we'll welcome you with open arms. I'll miss you, Styx. We all will."

With venomous tears in my eyes, I rushed to Carlisle and buried my face in his chest, hugging him for all it was worth. Vlad crawled out from between us and walked past Aro casually, hissing at the dark haired Volturi leader. Aro shrieked and jumped into Jane's arms, staring at the cat in fright and anger. I stared in awe as Marcus's face began to twitch and suddenly, without warning, he laughed loudly.

We all jumped because his voice was louder than he let on. He'd always been the suffer-in-silence type and actually hearing the volume his voice could be at... it was odd. A lot of things about Marcus were odd. He didn't seem like the kind of man to rule over the vampire world like Aro or Caius. He seemed like the kind of man that would settle down and find a mate and live blissfully happy for all eternity. Why he was with the Volturi, I suppose I'll never know.

Another thing was how stoic he was all the time. How bored he acted. You'd think he'd be as entertained as Aro but he wasn't. He sat quietly and, on occasion, spoke or sighed quietly. I knew this because for about six months, I trained for the Volturi guard. Yeah, I considered being Aro's little servant for a while but that was before I realized what a little punk Aro was. Anyway, whilst in the castle, I'd spent a lot of time observing, mostly the people, like Felix, Jane, Demetri... and Marcus.

My heart had gone out to Marcus and, for the first time since my change, I felt like I loved someone. I felt like he needed me. Like he needed someone to hold him, rock him back and forth and whisper that everything would be alright. I'm sure he had someone like that as some point. Maybe that's why he's so sad...

"Dear one, we should go. Merely staying in the same room as the Volturi is making me itch," complained Vladimir and he gently tugged on my hand.

I cast one look back at Carlisle before giving a half-hearted wave to everyone. Aro, despite the situation, wore his usual grin as he returned my wave. Carlisle gave me a soft smile and waved back as well. Marcus strode forward and, to my surprise, held out Vlad, "I believe this is yours."

I gently pulled my hairless cat from Marcus's cold fingers and zipped him up in my sweatshirt again. For a moment I was still, wondering what to say to the only Volturi I had respect for. After a few seconds, I looked up at Marcus and muttered, "You're a good man, Marcus. I'd try to persuade you to come with me, to be free, but Aro would kill me."

Marcus chuckled and I brushed my hand against his, intertwining my fingers in his colder ones for a moment, "Marcus, I know things are hard. My life from the very beginning has been hard. My mom died when I was born. My dad died when I was six. I fell in love... and he was tragically torn from me..." I winced at the memory but stayed strong for Marcus, "What I'm trying to say is, things will get better, no matter how bleak, boring and dull your life might be now, there's a rainbow around every corner... and if you need someone to help you through it, you know I'm here for you."

Everyone was still as statues around me and I squeezed Marcus's hand once before drifting away from him and cradling my cat in my arms. When life gets tough, the tough get going, and that's just what I was doing. I was going... starting a new life with two great men who cared enough for me to call me their equal.

I turned and gave one last wave before walking with Vladimir and Stefan to my car. Considering the sun was coming out and the pressure of running high speeds with my cat against my chest posed a problem, I decided to drive to the airport and use what little money I had left to buy plane tickets to Romania.

Oh d'aw!~ Stefan likes kitties. :3 FYI, I might be getting a hairless kitten named Vladimir soon so YAY! Just a little window into my boring life. Meh but you don't want to hear about me. You want to hear about Styx, Vladimir and Stefan. So till next time.

~Penny