Chapter Ten: The Damnable Gentleman
"I do hope your room is to your liking." Demetri's voice was liquid, like honey with a poisonous aftertaste to the ears and Devorah was more than a little afraid of being left alone with him, as Felix had parted with Carlisle a long while ago. She knew deep, deep down that Aro was the one to fear, as he had his mind-reading abilities and Carlisle would suffer for lying to him while all Demetri had was his awesome tracking.
It really was beautiful, with the wallpaper being a dark red and the bed in the center of the room having a matching comforter. A shelf of records and a record-player was on the far wall, as well as a whole wall of books. It was obvious that this room had catered to the whims of a younger vampire similar in age only to Dev. Yes, she did like music and she did stop a Frank Sinatra record on the shelf, but good gosh, Nancy Drew Mysteries, really, that's what they chose instead of the classics?!
"I like it, it's really nice." She said quietly, lying a little bit, eyeing the room and a snort of laughter, barely audible, even to her vampire hearing was heard behind her.
"You are a strange one, aren't you?" He asked and she turned to look at him, cocking her head to the side.
"What makes you say that?" That triggers a smirk from the tracker, who took a step closer, making her back up.
"You're a brave one, not everyone is courageous enough to face Jane." Dev shrugged and looked to the bed in confusion.
"What's that for?" She asked, flipping her hair over her shoulder.
"Some of our guests have mates." He said with another smirk and she rolled her eyes, flopping down on the comforter.
"Gross." She groaned when her head hit the pillow, spreading her arms out and exhaling loudly. She said nothing for a few minutes before letting her eyes close. "I want to die." She rasped dramatically and she heard the sound of reed blowing in the wind. She cracked open an eye to see Demetri standing there, his strange laughter being the cause of the noise.
"That can easily be arranged." Dev glared at him and rolled her eyes again, using the small amount of strength she had to get her from the throne room to her guest room to levitate one of the pillows and hurl it at his head. Demetri snickered again and dodged the flying cushion as Devorah slumped down, pretending to be asleep.
Dev found that if she closed her eyes and concentrated on keeping her breathing steady, she could tune out the rest of the world and recharge at her own pace, without the use of blood.
"What're you doing?" Demetri asked and she was mildly annoyed that he hadn't left yet.
"You're still here?" Dev asked and again he laughed, this time with less humour.
"You and your Granddad have chased away my meal. I don't really have anywhere else to go and I'm bloody starving!" He exclaimed loudly, moving a bit closer. Dev flipped on her side and looked down on the ground where her suitcase lay and she picked it up, pulling it onto the bed.
"Here." She said, unlatching the ties and pawing through her clothing, not bothering to feel embarrassed about the lingerie that tumbled out as she dug to the bottom. She smirked to herself when she reached a plastic bag and opened it, pulling out two packets of blood. She kept one by her side and tossed the other to the tracker, who looked at it curiously as she dug her teeth into the plastic, draining the blood from it in two seconds.
"What's this?" Demetri asked, turning the package over in his hands and she shrugged.
"Type A human blood. I got it from the hospital and wanted to try it. That's the only one I have, I don't really want to disobey Carlisle, and I like to think I have more self-control than that." She replied and he perked up at the mention of 'human'. "You can have it if you're so hungry." She said carelessly and he nodded.
He moved to leave but Dev wasn't sure she wanted to be alone right now. Yes, Demetri was creepy, hell, he was even downright frightening, but she'd trade him over her own thoughts and worries about Carlisle any day.
"Y-you don't have to go." She said carefully, and he looked back to her in confusion before it was covered up by yet another smirk.
"I don't?" He asked with a teasing edge in his voice and her eyes narrowed. She knew he was testing her, and she'd be damned if she failed.
"No, you don't. Have a seat, stay a while, I can't go to sleep." She told him, stating the obvious and he nodded once, occupying the chair in the corner.
"As the lady commands." He said with a charismatic air as she rolled her eyes for the third time, turning and swinging her legs over the side of the bed, stumbling over to the shelf and pulling down a Frank Sinatra disc. She carefully pried it from the case and gently laid it on the player and positioned the needle so it played her favourite song.
"Those fingers through my hair, that sly come hither stare, that strips my conscious bare, its witchcraft!" She sang along with recorded voice and the sound of Demetri laughing was again heard and she sat back down, glaring daggers at him.
"You're a fan of ol' blue eyes?" Demetri asked with a smile in his voice and she nodded, digging through her suitcase again to carefully take out her most treasured possession.
It was then that she heard a ripping noise and she looked up just in time to see the last of the blood in the package disappearing down Demetri's throat. He threw the ripped package directly into the garbage and grimaced.
"Live off that stuff often?" He asked and she nodded, making his red eyes widen.
"All winter, and it's not even human blood." She told him and he looked like he didn't believe it.
"But it's vile!" He exclaimed and she nodded.
"Yep." She said in a bored voice as she sat back and opened her book to her place. "So talk to me. How old are you?" She asked and he snorted, dragging the chair closer to her bed.
"I'm over three-thousand years old, but perpetually, I am nineteen." He replied and her book dropped to her lap.
"You're joking. Three-thousand years!?" He nodded and she sighed.
"I'm only three months, but I won't age past seventeen." She replied and he smirked again.
"It's nice to have someone my age here, even if not forever. Jane and Alec are both thirteen, Heidi and Felix are absorbed with each other and also close to thirty, the Masters are all forty, except for Caius, he is twenty-four I believe. As for the rest, well, you can't really converse with them; most won't be around for very long." Dev felt a pang of pity in her chest as he folded his hands in his lap.
"I've never known that, I'm as old as my Uncle Edward and all of my Aunts and Uncles are younger than twenty." She replied and he nodded, looking a bit curious.
"Ah yes, your… family." He said with a hint of distain, making Dev growl a little bit. "Tell me about them." He asks with an air of disdain.
"What's to tell?" She asked, getting a bit angry. He had that smug smirk on his face when he mentioned the only people she really gave a damn about, like he was mocking them without saying so.
"I didn't mean to offend, Miss Cullen, I'm merely curious as to how they could carry such a heavy burden." He told her and she relaxed a little bit. Dev didn't see herself as a burden on the family, not anymore at least, but there were times when her Uncle Jasper couldn't be around her and it was then that she'd wonder if Carlisle made the right choice.
She sighed, deciding that it wouldn't hurt if he knew. "Do you want the long story or the short one?" She asked and he shrugged, making her sigh and clear her throat. "Grandpa told me I was born in a death camp. I can't really remember any pictures or visuals of my time there, because I was just an infant, but I do remember noises. Screaming mostly and the smell of smoke.
"Miraculously, my Mother survived and she came to the hospital where Carlisle was treating the gravely ill. She had typhus, and she was delusional, she thought him an angel and she gave me to him to protect me, he brought me home and gave me to his daughter to raise as her own.
"I went to school like normal, and we moved towns frequently, I knew what my family was, but I was never afraid of them, I loved them too much. When three months after my seventeenth birthday, Carlisle changed me and I learned to be a vegetarian like them." Dev finished and sat back on her heels, sighing as Demetri just stared at her.
"Well, say something!" She exclaimed and he shook his head as if clearing a thought. He stood up soon afterwards and walked to the door.
"I believe I've overstayed my welcome, Miss Cullen." Was all he said before he departed, leaving Dev all alone again.
"Are you joking me?" She asked out loud to nobody in particular as she put her book down on the bed and standing up. She felt a little better, but she was enjoying her conversation with Demetri, why did he have to go and cut it off? She groaned again, but stopped her little pity-party with thoughts of an ancient library full of interesting books. "I wonder…" She thought out loud as she approached the door, turning the handle and stepping outside.
It was warm in the castle, even for early May, but Dev had to keep reminding herself that she wasn't in America anymore. This was Italy, and it was bloody hot! She decided to take a left, turning down the hall, staring at the paintings on the wall.
She stopped when she saw one that really caught her eye. It was a large portrait, spanning from ceiling to floor and it appeared to be of one of the Master's.
Oh, what was his name again… oh that's right, Caius. She thought to herself as she took in the huge picture of the blonde. It was done with an expert hand, his high, pale cheek bones and stunning eyes were done in perfect paint brush strokes, with colour from his vibrant red scarf dancing with the darkness of his black robe. He was unearthly, inhumanly and completely stunning, Devorah had never seen a man like that.
"Do you like my portrait?" A voice asked behind her and Dev jumped almost a foot in the air. She turned around to find the man in question she was staring at standing a few feet away from her, hands clasped together and eyes curious.
"Um… they're a talented painter." She said, losing her voice on the middle. Caius's face contorted into a smirk as he moved, no, glided closer to young woman.
"It was done in 1762, exactly two-hundred years ago, interesting, isn't it?" Dev nodded; her breathing uneven as he assessed the painting of himself with a critical eye.
"Do you remember who did it?" She asked nervously. The aura coming off this man was not what she'd expected at all. It was definitely arrogant, definitely, but there was something about him that she couldn't put her finger on at all, it was unsettling and frustrating to say the least.
"I recall an English man, possibly William was his name." He said after a moment of thought, reaching out to touch the painting lightly with his pale hand.
"Oh." Was all she said, wondering again about the library.
"Any particular reason why you are wandering about, you're very far from your room." Caius said, not looking at her and her eyes widened.
"Really? I'm sorry; I just wanted to find the library." She said, looking at the floor, feeling like a scolded first grader.
"Our library is around seven minutes in the other direction, Miss Cullen." He snapped and she furrowed her brow. He made it sound like she was snooping instead of trying to find a specific room.
"I don't know where I'm going." She confessed but his heated, suspicious gaze didn't soften.
"Well, in that case, I would be more than happy to escort you." He said through clenched teeth, offering his arm to her. She took it hesitantly, nodding, a blush of embarrassment creeping onto her face as he began to lead in in the other direction.
Dev was very worried that the man might snap in two if she wasn't gentle with him at first, but only when she has linked arms with him did she realize just how solid and strong Caius was, even if he was one of the oldest vampires in the world.
They walked in awkward silence to wherever the library was, with Dev still casting glances at the paintings on the walls. She picked up the pace when she heard Caius growl the slightest bit under his breath when she lagged behind; walking faster, combined with the silence gave her a little bit of time to think.
Well, he's definitely suspicious. Dev thought, stealing a look at the stony yet attractive men to her right. But he is very handsome, and a bit of a gentleman. Ha! Fancy that, a damnable gentleman! She stopped herself from laugh out loud, but a small snigger escaped her throat and Caius looked to her with an icy glare.
"What are you laughing at?" He asked and she shook her head, giving him a bright smile.
"I just though of something funny." She replied carelessly, flipping her hair over her shoulder. Caius stiffened and straightened up, dragging her along at an even faster rate towards a large door.
"Miss Cullen, the library." He said quickly as if he was introducing her to the doors. She smirked and pushed them open, letting her eyes fall on the room inside.
"Bad."* She said, her smirk changing to a genuine smile as she waltzed inside with damnable gentleman.
Okay, whenever you see these *, it means that it has a footnote at the bottom.
Bad*- bad was a term used in the 60's meaning awesome. Seeing as my story is set in 1962 right now, you'll be seeing quite a lot of this.
Other Notes: Bella WILL NOT be a part of this story in the way she was in the Twilight Saga, and Renesmee cannot and will never exist in this, I am very, very sorry.
