CHAPTER 8 – A HISTORY

I own nothing, I just love Twilight – no copyright infringement intended.

Nothing better than finding out one of your betas is really familiar with the time period you're trying to write! I'm a lucky girl to have two amazing betas on permanent assignment for Red Eyes! Thank you Nowforruin and solareclipses

Oh and sorry for skimming over the lemon; I just wanted to get to the meat of the chapter! To make up for it, please see my profile page and you'll see a link to a picture of Charlie Bewley in Cosmopolitan that inspired the hot tub scene. I'm sure you'll forgive me ;)

~X~

You only see what your eyes want to see,

How can life be what you want it to be,

You're frozen when your heart's not open.

You're so consumed with how much you get,

You waste your time with hate and regret,

You're broken when your heart's not open.

Frozen, Madonna

~X~

Damn, I thought to myself once I walked back into the bedroom, wrapped in just a towel. Now that my shorts and vest were thoroughly destroyed, my only choices were my ill-gotten outfit from Shelton or a summer dress. After much deliberation, I opted for the dress. I didn't feel right in it, and I certainly didn't look like me, but it was better than being naked—for now.

I took a moment to recall the emotionally-charged quickie on the kitchen floor only half an hour ago. I smiled as my stomach flipped. Why was I holding out on the sex front again? I really couldn't remember. There was something about his grin and his body that had a habit of making me forget myself. I wasn't complaining.

As we'd decided to stay here another night, I joined Demetri outside, removed my goddamn dress and put it in my Velcro pouch. We quickly explored Yellowstone National Park in the dying light. I galloped along beside my vampire lover, while he talked to me about places he'd been during his time on earth.

It seemed there was a whole world out there that I'd never seen: cities, deserts, mountains, tropical beaches and jungle. The possibilities were endless, and his tales fired up my imagination with the hope that he might show me someday.

When we came back to the cabin, Demetri insisted on feeding me, but I told him I was more than capable of making myself a sandwich out of the leftovers from earlier. He seemed a little put out, but soon cheered up when I suggested he get the hot tub going.

He had promised me his 'life' story in return for a session in the hot tub. It was a hard job, but in the interest of finding out about Demetri as a human, I'd do it. Ah, who am I kidding? I smirked to myself.

I was the happiest I'd been in a long time, not since—

I stopped myself; some people just didn't deserve my time or mental energy.

I went downstairs in a towel and found Demetri had already made himself comfortable in the water. As I approached, he stood up to help me in. His old-fashioned manners made me shake my head, until my attention was drawn elsewhere.

Although I'd seen plenty of him naked by now, the sight of him at that moment stopped me in my tracks. His hair was wet and messy, water glistened on his toned shoulders, and shadows defined the muscles under his pale skin. Following the shadows down his body, my eyes went lower and lower...I was well and truly lost on the happy trail.

Holy goddamn son-of-a-bloodsucker—he's hot.

He cleared his throat, and I saw he was holding his hand out to me. "Please, will you climb in? You standing there, wearing nothing but a towel and staring at me, is doing nothing for my patience."

I cringed in embarrassment at being caught looking. It wasn't as if he needed the ego boost.

Once I was in the water, he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. Due to the heat of the water, he was warm enough to almost pass for human—with the exception of his eyes, which were now an unnerving shade of deep burgundy. We paused for a second and enjoyed the anticipation before I brought my mouth to his and gave him his wish.

It wasn't the most practical of places to have sex, and even with vampire and wolf dexterity, it was awkward. I noticed Demetri was a little rougher with me than usual—and impatient. So I did what any self-respecting she-wolf would do—I made him wait.

Only when my own hunger for his body reached breaking point did I finally allow him to plunge into me. He did so a little too eagerly; we lost our footing and ungracefully sank beneath the surface. Despite the unwelcome mouthful of water, I was glad as the change in mood slowed him down, and he once more became the slow, considerate, talented lover I was familiar with.

He reminded me of the fact that vampires didn't have to breathe. Goddamn Italian-tongued vampires. There was something to be said for underwater oral, and I made damn sure the night air heard my opinions on the matter.

Demetri seemed to find my incoherent strings of curses and praises amusing, and once I was undone he gladly pulled me on top of him and found his own release. As he came, he had a strange expression in his eyes, and I realised he must be getting thirsty again. With that in mind, I kept myself as far as I could from his mouth and his teeth, but there was no feral hiss.

The hot tub could consider itself well and truly christened.

"Right, now that that's out of the way, you owe me one story of what you were like as a human."

He raised his eyebrows at my dismissive comment. "Are you sure you want to hear?"

"Dead sure," I replied. He was no longer just a vampire to me. I wanted to know more about him and what made him tick. I now knew there was a personality behind the ancient killer; I wanted to delve deeper, and understand why Demetri was what he had become.

"Please bear in mind that I wasn't the most morally upstanding character, but I was very typical of my time."

"Fine. Now are you going to tell this story or not?"

"Patience is a virtue, la lupa. Are we sitting comfortably?"

"As comfortable as I could ever be. Now spill."

He took a second before he began. "I was born in 57AD-"

"The fact you need to say AD kind of says something."

He continued. "I was named for my father, Lucius Demetrius Flavius."

"I can see why you shortened it."

"Indeed. A lot of the Volturi have modified our names over the years, and we don't bother with surnames."

I motioned that he should continue.

"My father was in the military, a respected man, and trusted by Nero for his courage and honesty. He always wanted to me to follow in his footsteps, like all boys of that time I was taught to fight, and I learnt from the best of teachers. While I was still young, he was killed when honesty fell out of favour with the emperor. I'll spare you the details of how he died."

I watched his face for signs of emotion, but he continued with an impassive voice, as if he was reading from a book.

"My father's brother, Marcus Demetrius Flavius, owned vineyards on the outskirts of Pompeii, on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius. You might have heard of it." I nodded to show that I had.

"He was a wealthy man, but he had no son. When I was five, he married my mother, and my sisters and I went to live with them. I was glad; I had no inclination to become the man of the house so young. I remember my first impression of Pompeii was the number of prostitutes, and the way the ground shook."

"He did not want me to enlist, and so he encouraged me to learn his business. He was quite a demanding man, very self-serving, but he was rich, and with him I could enjoy the good life. Despite my father's hopes for my future career, I was lazy and the idea of inheriting a thriving vineyard seemed a much better prospect than fighting in foreign lands.

"He arranged a marriage with a politician's daughter; I'd have rather he chose me someone a little more aesthetically pleasing. As you are already aware, I am very easy on the eye, and he used the marriage to further his business interests. It wasn't my place to argue, after all, he was my father for all intents and purposes. I did not get along with my wife, but we had a son—"

"You had a wife and son? What were their names?" I asked.

"Pompeia was my wife's name, and my son was named after me, Lucius Demetrius. Because I hated his mother, I kept myself entertained elsewhere as often as I could. In Pompeii there were plenty of places to keep me occupied." The meaningful look he gave left me no doubt that his entertainment was far from innocent.

He saw the look on my face as I disapproved of his callous disregard of his wife and family.

"Things didn't work the way they do now, Leah. When in Rome..."

"So basically, you were a cheating, lazy, rich asshole. Nice."

He continued, despite my prickly attitude. "My uncle had sent me away on business. He'd recognised my way with words and realised I would be useful in sweet-talking his customers. He said I should have been a politician myself.

"I'd stayed at a merchant's house in Misenum overnight, and I should have left for home in the morning. Instead, I met up with his wife—she was young, pretty and as unhappily married as I was. And of course I have a very persuasive tongue." He winked at me.

"Really, I'd not noticed. You're not exactly painting a good picture of your human self here."

"I never said I was trying to, but it's the truth. I was your average, spoiled, self-indulgent, rich boy; I wasn't doing anything that the next person wouldn't do. As it was, if I had returned home when I should have, I would have been dead by the end of the day. Vesuvius erupted, and I lost everything; my family, my wife and baby son, as well as my home, livelihood, and anything I owned of any value."

"You were at Pompeii when the volcano erupted?" I exclaimed. "How old were you?"

"Twenty-two. I wasn't in Pompeii, but I was a little closer than you would want to be. Now that was a sight to be seen."

He went quiet for a moment, and I felt the need to break the silence. "So what did you do? When did you get turned?" I asked.

"I didn't get turned immediately after the eruption. I was penniless and on my own; I wasn't one for hard work, and I had to accept that the good life was gone. I'd always relied on my father or my uncle to give me any direction on my life, and all of a sudden it was just me. Rather than be a beggar on the street, or join the army, I decided to sell myself into slavery."

"You sold yourself into slavery? Why would you do that?" I looked at him in disbelief.

"I was young and arrogant; I had been taught to fight, and I figured that gladiators only fought a few times a year. The talented or the more flamboyant became famous, and it was no secret that they got their share of rich men's wives. I suppose you could say they were the sportsmen of the time. Selling yourself into slavery was shameful, but people did it. I wasn't the only boy from the Bay of Naples who had lost everything and decided to give it a try."

"I might be stating the obvious, but wasn't that pretty much suicide?"

"For some, yes. Obviously it was an occupation with a high risk factor, but the rule was that you would generally hold back the killing blow if you could, and wait for the thumbs up or down. Slaves were expensive, so they were spared most of the time and lived to fight another day."

"Oh right. Was it like 'Gladiator' the film?"

"I wouldn't know. I've never seen it. Mostly we fought in pairs. I was a hoplomachus; I think it was a dig at my Greek name."

He noticed my blank look.

"It's a type of gladiator, based on the armour and weapons a particular Greek tribe used. That's how I met Titus Volumnius Felix; he was a myrmillo and the other type of fighter I was paired with. You may remember him as the large vampire on our side of the field."

"You fought the big guy? While you were both human?"

"Yes, we fought a few times. He was much more intimidating back then, when I couldn't be put back together."

"Wow. Important question—what did you wear?" My eyes twinkled. I was sure he would have been a sight to behold.

"We wore loin cloths mainly, and leather armour."

"Nice." I smirked at him, and then quietened down. I was getting mental images of Demetri in gladiator garb, and I was keen for him to continue.

"It was a lot better than begging. I fought a grand total of eight times, and I won all but twice. I was well looked after, and being prettier than the average gladiator, I got more than my share of lady visitors. It was worth the disgrace.

"During those three years, I grew up and learnt more about myself than the rest of my human life put together. Not the easiest years of my life, but I was a much better person for them. I learned about loyalty, friendship, and discipline."

"Wow. I'm sharing a hot tub in the twenty-first century with a real-life gladiator." I moved closer to him. "So how did you get turned?"

"One night Eleazar, one of the Volturi who can see special powers in vampires and humans, was looking for strong, new vampires to join their number. He saw Felix and me fighting. He recognised that I had potential to be a great tracker, as well as my physical prowess, so he mentioned me to Aro.

"A few nights later, I had a lady visitor that was a little different than the others. She was cold and had skin like marble; I thought she was Venus come to life. I was right to think she wasn't human, but she definitely wasn't a goddess!"

Demetri smiled to himself. I wondered if that vampire was still a member of the Volturi, and exactly what the visit entailed, but I did not ask.

"She asked me to follow her, and I did. She took me to Aro. He asked if would I swear my loyalty to the Volturi, and in return he would grant me eternal life."

"They asked you if you wanted to be a vampire? And you said yes?"

"It's all about how you sell the prospect, and he made it sound very good. He neglected to tell me exactly what he was, until he bit me and it became obvious. I saw that he was wealthy, and that he commanded the respect of those around him. It seemed like an improvement from the sand of the training ground and the company of sweaty gladiators." .

"I would have chosen the sweaty gladiators," I blurted.

Demetri's mouth lifted in a half-smile. Vampires or gladiators? I thought to myself. Maybe a vampire gladiator was a good compromise between the two.

"I felt like I was burning in Tartarus, or hell as you would know it. They threw me in a room with another human going through the transformation. When I woke up, I recognised him as Felix. In the beginning we were very volatile and fought over anything and everything. We practically tore the building down.

"During that first year, I found it quite handy that I could be put back together. Once we settled down, our fighting abilities made us very useful enforcers, as Aro, Marcus and Caius have always been more mental than physical. We became the arms of the Volturi and played a big part in their rise to power.

"The extent of my tracking abilities became apparent, and for a while I was the jewel in the Volturi's crown. It is quite intimidating, knowing you can be found anywhere in the world, and that you cannot evade justice.

"Then the witch twins came on the scene a few centuries ago." He made a face, and I gathered that he wasn't particularly friendly. "Since they arrived, Felix and I have moved a rung or two down the ladder. We end up doing most of the dirty work, the things Jane thinks are beneath her and her brother.

"I have no regrets about becoming a vampire, and although there are some things I dislike about being part of the Volturi, I have been happy with them for almost two thousand years."

I wrinkled up my nose in disgust.

Demetri laughed at my expression. "One thousand, nine hundred and fifty-three years old, and I still don't look a day over twenty-five."

I took a moment to process what he had told me. I wondered if he could be so cold and matter of fact because it all happened so long ago, or whether that was just his nature. It seemed so out of sync with the Demetri I'd built up in my own mind. I had so many questions, but I could not find the words to say them in a way that would not break the open and relaxed atmosphere.

Once it was safe to open my mouth, I used my most suggestive tone. "I don't suppose I could talk you into wearing a loin cloth later?"

"Are you keen for a history lesson? I know lots about Roman debauchery; I lived in Pompeii, after all." He smirked at me and pulled me back onto his lap.

I smiled at him and wound my arms around his neck. "I want to learn all about what gladiators would do with their lady visitors."

"I can put that on the curriculum. Now, have I ever told you how much ancient Romans used to enjoy having fun in hot baths?"

~X~

A/N – I got inspiration for Demetri's background from a made up back story created by Charlie Bewley (drool), the actor who portrayed him in New Moon and Eclipse (squeee – loved it. Although not enough Demetri for my liking!)

To research this chapter I read 'Pompeii' by Richard Harris, and did a heck of a lot of Googling. I wish I could reference every single website but there are so many. Notable sources however are Wikipedia (of course) and .com/

Handy information:

Mount Vesuvius, which is situated on the Bay of Naples, erupted in 79AD, destroying the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum; Misenum was further up the coast.

Just in the interest of mental pictures ;), a hoplomachus was a heavily armed gladiator, who carried a small, round, bronze shield, a gladius (sword) and a spear. They wore a loin cloth and a belt, and had quilted fabric leg wraps like trousers. They had long shin guards on both legs, an arm guard on their left arm and a brimmed helmet. Romans liked to base their gladiators on specific types of barbarian warriors, and this type was based on an ancient Greek tribe.

They were paired with myrmillones who also wore a loin cloth and a belt, a short greave on their right leg, leather wrist guards and wrappings on their feet. They wore an arm guard and a helmet with a fish crest with slits for eyes. They carried a gladius and a long oblong shield like a legionnaire. They replaced the Gallus type of gladiator once it became less politically correct and Gauls were no longer seen as barbarians.

.org/wiki/List_of_Roman_gladiator_types

There are lots of resources on Roman names; there were a limited number of praenomen (Lucius, Titus, Marcus etc.) to choose from; a nomen, which was a family name, (i.e. Demetrius, Claudius), and a Cognomen which was a more specific family name or nickname, usually based on physical characteristics (i.e. Flavius means blonde haired.) A woman's name was generally their father's nomen made feminine (i.e. Julius, Julia), or a nickname (i.e. Hortensia, likes gardens.)

(.org/wiki/Choosing_a_Roman_Name)

Two tier names were still common during Demetri's human years. Anyone joining the Roman Empire was encouraged to choose a Roman name. In this story I'm insinuating Felix was a massive Gaul, who either chose or was forced to become a Gladiator. The name he later chose to go by as a vampire was his Cognomen, Felix, which means lucky.

A ludi was a gladiator training school. The gladiatorial troupe was called a familia. They were generally very close knit and felt a little like being in the army.

Venus is the Roman goddess of love and beauty.

Romans who could afford it liked to spend a lot of time in baths, which were very social places. This might explain Demetri's fixation with the hot tub—just saying!

Tartarus was Roman 'hell' with fire and torture, as described by Virgil in the Aneid. (Nowforruin, along with various other tidbits of Roman knowledge.)