I do not own twilight or any of the characters except for Neve. Please read and review. Neve interacts with Caius in this one!


There I sat alone inside the immaculately decorated dining area. The table that I sat at had enough room to seat at least twenty more people, but there I sat alone at the head. Demetri had told me the room used to get more usage when the Volturi would throw balls to help entertain visiting guests. By entertained I knew he met to bring unsuspecting humans into the castle to help sustain their guests. In my imagination I could see them now, all dressed up eating their food and laughing. Completely unaware of their hosts, who themselves hadn't taken a single bite from their own plates. Completely unaware as to what was going to befall them later. Placing my fork down onto the plate I sighed at my thoughts. What was to become to me? I hadn't made a decision yet as Demetri alerted me to today in the courtyard. How long could I even take to make such a decision? Days, weeks, months, how much time did I really have before living in this castle would become dangerous for me? It was dangerous now, and what would they do if they did receive guests? My safety then wasn't promised to me at all. I suppose Aro was pretty confident that I would see the only logical choice would be to become on of them.

Rising from the table I took note that Demetri hadn't returned to meet me at the dining area. I took this opportunity to explore more of the castle. Walking down the winding corridors I looked into many of the rooms. Some of them were bedrooms which I couldn't understand the point in a castle full of people who never slept. A few others looked like that had been sitting rooms. Most of them were dusty and covered up by sheets. Ghostly rooms with furniture from a time I had only read about in history books. Forgetting about running into Demetri I went even further into the rest of the castle. A room had its door ajar, and I poked my head through. I gasped as I saw paintings hung up on the walls. Demetri had told me that during the renaissance the Volturi had been patrons of the arts. There were many paintings of the city, the castle itself, religious icons and of course pictures of the court. Looking at one painting I recognized the figures portrayed within.

Their hair was styled differently, held back in a very formal manner. They were dressed in nearly matching suits from a different time. Instead of being dressed in the black I had recognized from yesterday they were dressed in rich creams and gold. They looked like royalty, which I guess was fitting considering who they were to the vampire world. I could easily make out Marcus, looking exactly like he had when he was in the throne room. It was strange seeing him like this, the painter clearly dead for hundreds of years while the subject was still walking the halls of this castle. Next to him was Aro which I could make out by his sharp nose. Even in the painting he was placed slightly more forward, taking the role of the leader even so long ago. I shook my head trying not to think anymore about him since I gathered that he would be able to find out if I did by touching my hand. I reached up and placed my hand on the frame trying to notice all the details in this masterpiece. Looking the most regal of them all was pictured Caius. He surprisingly didn't wear the familiar scowl I'd seen on him since I arrived here. He wasn't smiling either, but he looked calm and royal like a prince. All of his hair was parted away from his face, perhaps in a ponytail of some sort I guessed. It was strange to think that he still looked exactly the same. This was the first time I ever really got to get a good look at him. I thought back to the throne room and the hate oozing out of his eyes and the startling loud display of authority in his voice.

I turned my back to the painting and looked around the rest of the room. It wasn't dusty and covered by sheets like the majority of the ones I had walked by before. There was a rather large desk in the center, and a window that overlooked the wall on the east and the countryside. Books and papers took up the majority of the space on the desk. Looking down I could barely make out any of the words. The script was like the calligraphy I'd seen for wedding invitations. Most of the writings looked to have been in Italian because I couldn't make out any of the words. Moving a few of them aside something violet caught my eye. It was on an older piece of parchment that was stained yellow and brown. The edges were jagged and it seemed to be very old. I took care as I removed it from underneath the piles of paper. It was a sketch of a young girl. Maybe she was another member of the guard I thought, but she looked a little familiar. Her hair was long and cascaded around her shoulders and down her back. She was dressed in a tunic that seemed more common place in the times of the Roman Empire than on the parchment she was drawn onto. Her eyes looked like they were laughing, so different from the expressions on the paintings I had seen in the room. Her eyes were what caught my eye, they were violet like mine.

I didn't have much time to entertain the thought, because I was interrupted by the sound of what I thought was the wind blowing the door open to the point it slammed against the wall. Startled I remained frozen, but dropped the piece of parchment back onto the desk. Wind wasn't powerful enough to open a door with that much force. I held my breath and closed my eyes in a silent prayer. The wind blew around me again and stopped in front of me but it seemed further away, on the other side of the desk. Hands slammed down onto the desk and my eyes opened to be greeted by a storm of swirling crimson.

"Find anything interesting?"

"Um, uh…I'm s-s-sor—"

"Sorry? You're sorry? This is my private study!"

My heartbeat and his voice were the only things ringing through my mind and ears. I couldn't hear myself think. I was too afraid to look him directly in the eye. He was the last person I was hoping to see. Caius was on the other side of the desk. His brow was inverted and creased into the angriest expression I had ever seen. His anger was boiling inside of him as I could see his frame beginning to shake with rage, his hands clawing at the table between us. I knew he could have ripped through as easily as the papers that lay on top of it. It was like watching a snake, a deadly viper just was it was about to strike. My eyes widened in shock and so did his because I had found my voice.

"I-I am very sorry, I didn't know this was your private study. I didn't mean to snoop around…"

"SILENCE!" he cut me off.

I remained quiet as I looked past him. I couldn't look at him. I had never been so paralyzed by fear in my entire life. I just wished that I could swallow the shame and fear and disappear. I would rather be in a cage with a lion at this point. His red eyes narrowed into thin slits as he started to slowly make his way around the table. He was moving terribly slow, as if he was enjoying my fear, it was almost as if he was trying to give me some time to run, but I knew better than to test his patience anymore than I already had. Every step he took closer, I took a few back towards the thankfully open door to the hall. I had made just inside the frame before I was pushed backwards. I closed my eyes feeling the air move quickly around me for that instant. There was an ache in my shoulder and back and I could feel the cold hard stone of the wall behind me. Wincing I cracked open one eye, all I could see was the dark sleeve of a jacket whose arm had me pinned securely in place by my side.

"Say one more word and it will be your last, girl. That is a promise." He hissed at me maliciously.

I tried to keep my chin down to avoid looking at him. I just wished that I had waited for Demetri, and then perhaps I wouldn't have been in this predicament. This afternoon had given me a false sense of security. But this wasn't Demetri playing a prank, this was seething, angry Caius and what was worse, he was angry with me. Cold fingers ghosted around my cheek and wrapped around my chin forcing me to look up. I shut me eyes tight as I felt my face being lifted upright.

"Don't close your eyes. Look. At. Me."

He commanded. My eyes snapped open and I forced to stare him in the face. The heat from his anger radiated into me, fueling the now frantic pace of my heartbeat. His irises were intense as he stared at me hard, appraising me with his critical eye. He wasn't wearing the scowl I was expecting. It was something far more sinister, he would have been the most handsome creature I had ever seen if it wasn't for the sly smile he wore on his face. He was pleased with the state of panic he had placed me under. He was pleased that he had caught me here. He was pleased that now he had control over me, control over my life. He brought his other hand up to my shoulder and I braced myself expecting pain, or an earth shattering smack.

Instead his fingers grabbed a hold of a few locks of my hair. He didn't hold them tightly or pull on them; he just used his fingers to left them aside from my face and off my shoulder. But now I also realized that my throat was also exposed to him. I watched in horror as his pupils dilated slightly, the shade of his irises growing slightly darker alerting me to the true peril I was in. He leaned forward and I felt his cool breath on my shoulder and base of my neck. I could feel his lips pulling over his teeth as his smile broadened. Teeth that I knew were razor sharp and so close to my skin.

"Let me make myself clear. Just because Aro is entertained by having you become one of the guards doesn't mean that we all are. I don't care what you decide. I don't think you should even be given a choice. Don't be fooled by the court yesterday, I am still leader and equal to Aro. I can and will act on my own as I see fit."

He drew in a breath and exhaled against my skin. It was as icy and cold as the daggers he spoke into my ear. He laughed maliciously teasing my ear lobe with the tip of his nose.

"It appears that you will be having company soon. Remember what I said Neve. I will not be second guessed. If I were you I'd make that decision quickly. It would be a shame to have an accident befall such a beautiful young girl like yourself, now wouldn't it?"

And with that I was surrounded by another rush of cold air. He was gone. I was shaking with fear, and strangely some rage. Overwhelmed with emotion I dropped to my knees and held my head over my lap. Hot tears clouded my vision as I heard rushing footsteps down the hall.

"Neve, I'm soo sorry. What are you doing sitting in the middle of the hallway"

It was Demetri. So that is what Caius had meant. He had probably run off to avoid a confrontation. I knew that Aro would be angry if he had acted independently, but he could be forgiven. But I had a sinking feeling that he wouldn't act freely with Demetri so close by. Coward. Cruel. Calculating. Coward. I punched the floor beside me in anger. Demetri had already knelt down beside me with his hand offered to me. I guess he had smelt the salt in the air because I heard a feral sounding growl come from him. Stopping him before he could ask I looked up at him trying my best to wipe the tears from my face. They still swirled in the corners of my eyes, threatening to fall but I tried my best to keep a straight face.

"Demetri, can I just go back to my room?"

Before I knew it was I off the ground. Demetri had picked me up bridal style and held me protectively to his chest. His lips were held in a tight line and he stared straight ahead and wouldn't look at me. His expression was blank and I guessed that he was trying to suppress something, maybe his own anger. Clutching onto the lapel of his jacket, I felt the cold from his body numbing my body. I shivered uncontrollably and it began to get dark and I felt faint. I murmured something before being swallowed by the darkness, I couldn't feel a thing.


Again please review. Caius is frightening as hell. The next chapter should be in his POV. But he is definitely not the biggest fan of having Neve around.