A/N: So this update is LONG overdue. Really sorry! I don't think words can express how sorry I am! I wouldn't blame you all if you've given up on this story, because I probably would have! Anyways, right now I have three stories going, this one, my Harry Potter fanfic To Bite the Apple, and my new original piece of fiction, Somnium Fata. So this summer, I decided I'm going to alternate between updating the three stories I am working on. For that reason, there probably won't be weekly updates but I plan on getting as much done of this story and the other before school in the fall. I have timelines written for all three stories so it will be a little easier in updating.
Sorry this chapter isn't the most exciting one, but it is crucial to the plot of the story so I couldn't leave it out. You'll see the return of a previous character in this from one of the other books! Can you guess who it is? Hopefully you'll remember them!
Pardon my editing too. I'm very bad at it. Hopefully my writing isn't too atrocious!
Well, without further ado, chapter 4!
~4~
A Most Dangerous Game
The front doors of the ancient castle were pushed open by two white, slender hands, letting the cold Iceland breeze sweep in. The loud slam the doors made against the stone walls of the castle echoed, eventually fading into silence. The two hands slipped off the opposite doors, falling to the side of the castle's visitor.
She strutted forward briskly, her body overflowing with grace and her arms sweeping along in time to every step. Her bob of bright orange hair bounced at the side of her neck as her fringe was swept to the side by the air that sped past her moving body.
She swung her hips with each stride. They were proportionally larger than other parts on her petite body, giving her the perfect hourglass shape. An emerald green cloak flowed over her entire body, revealing only the outlines of her tight black pants and corset blouse in the front.
The tall heels on her thick black boots clacked loudly against the stone flooring as she began to march angrily, picking up speed. The whole castle knew she was coming.
She neared the giant marble staircase that would lead her to the King's chamber where she would once again be scolded for her foolishness and threatened with more punishments. As she made a movement to ascend upon it, a figure coming out of the shadows of the crimson curtains next to the stairs caught her attention.
She looked into the wary face of her sister, her red eyes glowering at her appearance. "Don't look at me like that, Audrey," she said to her sister, scowling.
They shared the same facial structures, but their bodies were entirely different. Audrey had long flowing auburn hair and a tall, thin body to counter her sister's small, petite form. Audrey, the elder of the two, was far more beautiful than her sister. She was an elegant, seductive goddess in poise and looks, while the other sister still contained an essence of childlike sweetness and innocence. However, the sharp features and evil stares of her façade illustrated she was anything but.
"I just came down here to warn you," Audrey said. Her tone was clear and sharp. No emotion showing through the pointed words. "Watch what you say."
"Well thanks for the warning, but I can do just fine on my own," her sister scoffed back. She turned on her heel, to walk up the giant stairs and meet her doom with the king, but the long hand of her sister caught her arm, pulling her back around to meet the blank face.
"He is angry with you," she mumbled, her tone sounding desperate, "He believes you betrayed him. Please, don't put yourself in more jeopardy. He'll just punish you more."
"I think I've suffered enough punishment as it is," the sister growled, throwing Audrey's hand off her arm. "I've been living in the mountains on his orders, on your loving husband's command. I've practically been starving, all alone out there in the blistering winds with no blood or company. But that was his intention wasn't it? To make me so weak that I would practically crawl back here begging for mercy and a drop of blood. Well, he'll have none of it from me!"
With her last word, the sister reached the first step of the staircase, hardness etching over her face as she began to climb.
"Marney, please," Audrey rasped from behind, "Please see reason. Just cooperate with him. He may forgive you!"
"It is time you stop living in the past Audrey!" Marney yelled, "Your husband does not forgive anymore. No, not unless he wants something in return."
"Well maybe you can—"
"I have nothing that he desires!" Marney shrieked at her sister, watching as the hopeful expression on her face fell.
"Please Marney," Audrey rasped weakly; sounding as if she was crying silent tears, "I cannot lose another sister. I'll have no one else."
Not daring to turn around and look at the grief-stricken expression on her loving sister's face, Marney continued up the stairs hurriedly, trying to push away the painful reminders that Audrey brought back to surface in her head.
The small red head came to an abrupt halt as she neared the end of a hallway, pausing in front of an antique door. A wary expression came to her face. She knew what she would be facing upon entering the room. They had summoned her for a purpose and that purpose was one of two things: to put her to some use, or to destroy her.
However, Marney felt confident that it was the latter. Despite her loving sister's cries and pleas, there would be no stopping the lethal vampires in the room before her from tearing her small body to shreds inch by inch, igniting the bits and pieces to flames. Despite whatever her darling sister claimed, she would deserve it. She had defied her masters and let herself become too easily distracted. It was a mistake the Altaira could not afford, but one that she lost herself in and made. Indeed, Marney would deserve whatever punishment their leader had in store for her.
The small girl crept into the room, keeping a blank cold stare upon her young face. She glanced around the room swiftly, taking in the other members of the Altaira who stood there. It was only Eric, their leader, and two guards, Cerebrus and Marcellus. She just might be able to escape them. She was far more sly and clever then the two dim witted guards. With a little creation, she could take out both of them in order to gain escape.
The malicious smile coming from Eric on his throne disrupted her imaginary escape plans. Surely he wouldn't try to take her out. He left his guards to do that. He was too much a coward to handle anything on his own. "You wished to see me, Eric?" Marney asked cautiously, allowing the worry to still crease her face.
"Well, well, well," Eric mused in response, the playful leer springing to his lips, "Look who we have here. How are you Marney? How have the cold, lonely blizzards of the Iceland terrain been treating you?"
"Actually, rather well," she replied, letting a smug smirk come to her face. "I forgot how comforting it can be to live in quiet and solitude."
In an instant, Eric's jeering smile fell as his red eyes seemed to bulge with anger. But just as quick, he recovered and let the sneer come back to his stone face as he spoke, "Still just as sardonic as always."
"Would you expect anything but?" Marney replied haughtily.
Her master's eyes narrowed to thin slits as he answered in disappointment, "No, I suppose not." Eric was not accustomed to this flame of rebellion that he saw burning in Marney's eyes. He was one whom other's looked to with respect and fear, not one in which they engaged in clever mocking with.
"Hmm," Marney started, walking further into the room with bolder steps. The small girl was nowhere near intimidated by the three large, brutish vampires that stood before her. "Let me guess," she said, continuing in her ponderings, "You thought that I would come back here begging for your mercy and your forgiveness. Am I right?"
Eric was caught off guard by this statement, not knowing where this torturous creature was taking the conversation. However, he schooled his expression so that the shock would not cross over his face. Instead, he replied with a leer to match the one covering her facade. "Is this to mean that you do not wish for those things?"
She snorted as her crimson eyes rolled, letting out a soft bell-chiming chuckle. "It doesn't make a difference to me one way or the other, seeing as I know I am not going to receive it."
"Oh?" Eric asked, prepared to fight back with just as much cunningness as she was bringing forth. "And what makes you come to that conclusion?"
Again her bell-chime laugh echoed through the grand, stone room, bouncing off the walls to resonate in all of the room's inhabitants' ears. "I know what I did Eric. You would be a fool to accept me back."
She was on to him. She was far too clever. She had been a part of the Altaira clan for too long, knowing far too well the procedure for those who betrayed. Still, Eric shrugged as if it was no matter to him and replied simply, "So do you mean to tell me that you can't be trusted?"
"No," she retorted forcefully, pushing the truth up front. "I am merely saying that how would you know that I could be trusted to not make the same mistake again."
This was the part of the conversation Eric had been maliciously waiting for; the part where he would get to reassert his power and make her tremble at his feet, begging for mercy and forgiveness. He could not help the evil smile that crept up onto his lips, nor the wicked ring to his voice as he growled, "Because this time, I have leverage."
Marney felt the anxiety creep through her cold system, knowing that this part of their game could be dangerous, even deadly. Eric no doubt had something planned that would make her regret ever defying him. "Oh?" she asked coolly, keeping her calm so as not to betray her apprehension. "So you are going to black mail me this time?"
"Not quite," he leered, annunciating each syllable slowly to heighten the anticipation. "It is much simpler than that."
"How so?"
"Do what I ask and I will let you go free after everything is complete." If it was at all possible, Eric's vindictive smirk seemed to grow more. It became the most startling feature of his appearance, showcasing every pearly white tooth in the large gaping mouth.
Marney's eyes narrowed skeptically as she crossed her arms over her slight chest. "And what does everything entail?"
"That I will be the ruler of vampires and human kind a like." Eric's smile closed as he shrugged his shoulders, acting as if it would be the easiest task in the world.
"Well, that may take a long time," she said scoffing, hardly believing for a minute that Eric was shrewd enough, let alone powerful enough, to achieve that in a nightfall. "Why can't I just achieve my freedom right now on my own?" she challenged.
"Because you will not be walking out that door free," he sneered, the cruel grin playing back on his lips. "Either you help me and I will grant you your freedom if you wish it after everything is done or, I will dispose of your sister."
Marney's body went rigid, the instinct reaction of hearing threats about the sister she still loved. She tried to control her outrage as she spoke evenly, "And why would you want to dispose of your darling queen who would do anything for you."
"She has become useless," he said just as coolly, no ounce of guilt over the ruthless threats he just spat. "She may be a vampire but she is a weak one at that. When the Altaira are the rulers of the world, I plan to take on a new queen. One who is much more powerful than your fragile older sister. Even you Marney are tougher than her, but I do know how to crack you."
Marney felt the anger boil in her gut and knew she no longer had a choice in the matter. Her sister was all she had left in life, the only one who still cared for her. They had lost their only other sister long ago, and not it was just them. It had been so long since she had felt any sense of love and care from another, but her sister had always shown her some semblance of it. She couldn't leave her to suffer at the wrath of her husband. Audrey deserved more than that. "So it does not matter what I do. You will kill her anyways," she replied somewhat brokenly, feeling a great weight descend upon her shoulders. Her freedom was completely gone and she knew it would never return again.
"No," he denied, though Marney could see the lie in that. Eric would destroy anyone in the way of achieving his eternal glory and ultimate rule. It didn't matter if she was his wife, he didn't love her. He didn't love anyone. He had become cursed by the evil creature's body he was trapped inside, and his soul was too tarnished to ever be set free of it.
"You help me," he addressed her, the business tone back in his voice, "and I won't kill her. I'll let both of you go. You don't help me, and I will march right down there now and kill her myself and then come back for you. Is that clear?"
She looked up to meet his hard eyes with her own. "Crystal," she responded half-heartedly, admitting defeat. She was doomed. She had no choice but to help him, not only for her sister's life, but for hers as well.
"So, will you agree to come back to the Altaira and do my bidding?"
She knew Eric enough not to agree right away. She could get stuck in a trap for all she knew and end up killing her sister herself. "It depends on what you'll have me do," she said, speaking and choosing her words carefully.
"Fair enough," he said quietly while she waited in angst for her suicide mission, for it was sure to get her killed. But what did it matter anymore anyways. This life as a vile creature had doomed her from the start and it was sure to result in an equally hopeless demise.
"I am reassigning you to your post over in North America," he continued. "You will have the same task as the last time, provided you do not get distracted again and chase after one human's tasteful blood. You are to seek better control over all of the powerful vampires that live there, enforcing the Altaira law. Make them want to turn away from the Volturi. Enforce our laws. And for those who do not agree, take them out. It is simple."
"And what of the powerful clans like the Cullens and Denalis who would kill me in a second," she asked doubtfully, knowing the Cullens did not take their last encounter together lightly. "What do I do with them then?"
"Nothing. You will merely be spying on them," he responded casually, "Upon my word, we will send many of our guard to take them out or force them into our league. You will target the nomads and the wanderers of North America."
"And why am I best suited for this?" she questioned, still attempting to understand the reason behind all of Eric's plans.
"Because you did it last time and you know the area best," he explained as if it was obvious. "We can't afford to lose any more time. You know where all the vampires are on that continent. All you have to do is find them."
She didn't believe him. He was making it seem easier than it would actually prove to be. "Eric you know the Cullens will destroy me in an instant for what I did to their darling daughter and that human boy last time I was there," she said with a scowl. "Did you forget that; the very reason why you banished me, because of that stupid human boy."
"I do remember Marney," he said surely with a wicked little smirk, "but you will not get distracted because you cannot afford it. You know what will happen else wise." Again she was reminded of her doom and the reason she was back in his games again. "But that brings me to my other point," he continued, ignoring her silence, "You are aware that that human boy whose blood you were so attracted to was changed, right?"
She looked up at him with curiosity, wondering why he was telling her this. She had forgotten all about the human boy. She had run away and no longer felt the urge to drink his blood. What did it matter anymore whether he was alive, dead, or a vampire. "I did not know for sure," she expressed indifferently, "but I assumed as much. I was not able to fully drink the blood from his body as the Cullens showed up to stop me."
Again, his smile widened as he said cheerily, "And I thank you for that, because, it just so happens that that boy possesses a most powerful gift. A most useful one that the Volturi tried to get their hands on but failed." Marney was again shocked at the boy being so special. As a human, he was just a small, fragile kid who couldn't hurt a bug. What had this life changed him into?
Eric stood up from his velvet throne to make his way over to her, stopping in front of her petite figure. "So, that is your second quest," he persisted. "Find that boy and bring him back here. You should be able to convince him to come willingly with you. I believe there is a certain bond between a vampire and the one they changed themselves. See if you can coax him here."
"And is that all I have to do for you?" she asked doubtfully, again noticing the truth was buried deep in his eyes.
"Yes, but cheer up Marney," he said softly, putting a hand up to cup her cheek gently. He leaned down to speak in her face, his seductive whispers sending tingles of fear down her spine. "You just might get your freedom back. It is only one small stipulation."
She scoffed and stepped back from him, making his hand fall from where it held her cheek. "Yes, but with that stipulation," she growled, "I am destined to an eternity of servitude before I can even think of freedom."
"If that is what you believe, I won't make any point in denying it," he replied indifferently with a small shrug, "You may go now. Leave as soon as you can. I expect weekly updates from you." With one last cold stare in his direction, she spun on her heel, making her way to the door ahead. "Do not fail me Marney. You know the consequences if you do," he called to her retreating figure, voice thick with an ominous warning.
He watched as her moving body stopped just before the door, muttering brokenly, "Yes and I give you my word that I will not, for my sister's life, if not for my own."
"Good, just what I wanted to hear." he exclaimed happily, clapping his hands together in glee. Finally, everything was where he wanted it. The ball was in his court again. It was no longer anyone else's game. It was his and he was winning.
With a last growl, she wrenched the door open, and shut it with a loud slam, though the noise did nothing to startle any of the occupants still in the room. They waited in silence until they could no longer hear the clacking of her heels on the castle's stone staircase.
One of the lead guards came forward to stand next to Eric, who was still wickedly grinning at the closed door. "Master, you know if the Cullens see her they will not stop until she is destroyed. They are still looking for her. They will find her. They won't hesitate until she is destroyed."
"Oh I know that Cerebrus, I am no fool," he spat, the menace creeping back into his voice. "But that is exactly my point. The Cullens will be so focused on Marney, that they won't even be prepared for when we come to attack them. And if Marney does succeed in convincing that Aiden boy to join us, then my endeavor is even better. Marney is the perfect distraction for those wretched Cullens." He turned to face the shocked faces of Cerebrus and the other guard, Marcellus, standing stock still in the corner. "My two loyal servants," he leered evilly, "it is safe to say that I will have the Cullen clan among many others in my grasp fairly soon."
All three of them erupted into malicious laughter, igniting the pure savagery of the souls locked inside of the vile creatures' bodies. They were all players in Eric's game, ready to terrorize and destroy anyone who stood in their way of the win, just for a piece of the prize…
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