A/N: I know it's been literally forever since I updated... And I'm really, really sorry! Hopefully, I'll be able to update on the regular from here on out.

Thank you for everyone who participated in suggesting ideas for Evelyn's temporary babysitter. A few of you suggested the wives, which I thought was an excellent idea! :) I'm not as familiar with them as I am with the rest of the Volturi, but, hopefully they don't end up being to OOC. Hope you enjoy!

"What so you mean, you're going away?" I frowned, leaving the fruit and oatmeal he'd brought for breakfast untouched. "I thought you were 'assigned' to me, or whatever."

Alec continued to leaned back against the far wall, but he looked uneasy as he eyed the full tray in front of me. He nodded to it, insistently. "You know I'm here to make sure you eat. So eat."

I sighed, in exasperation. Why did he have to be so stubborn? Of course, I knew that his job—me—came before everything else. It was the reason I was safe with him. But, I guess it was easier to think of him as a friend, even if he wasn't. "Can you just explain what's going on, first, please?"

"Eat, then I'll explain." I huffed a little at his obstinance. Leave it to Alec to think telling me to do the same thing twice was compromise. I opened my mouth wide, exaggeratedly stuffing a heaping spoonful of oatmeal into my mouth. He made a face as I chewed the large bit, actually looking a little green. "Really?"

"You asked for it." I murmured, through a mouth still half-full of oatmeal. Normally, I wouldn't have had such terrible manners, but, seeing as they seemed to bother him and I was feeling a little vengeful, I made an exception. He rolled his eyes and turned away, waiting until I swallowed the rest of the bite before he spoke again.

"You're such a child sometimes, you know that?" He sighed a little and shook his head. "It's not like I'm abandoning you or something. I'm need for an important mission. Don't worry, I'm only going to be gone for a few days." He smiled smugly, in typical Alec fashion. "I'm sure you won't miss me too much."

"So... What does this mean?" I ventured, not daring to hope that I'd be left to roam the palace alone. "Is someone else going to be assigned to me?"

I couldn't deny that there was a part of me that longed for the freedom of being alone, but there were other factors at play here. My safety, for one. I may have been under Marcus's protection, but I didn't want to take any chances. I hadn't forgotten that I had once been considered food to these creatures, and that I could be again. I shivered at the grim thought, at the memory of Aiden's bloody corpse that accompanied it. His death was still so fresh in my mind, it was hard not to think about, although I tried.

"Well, I've been asked to take you up to the tower with the wives before I leave." He shrugged his shoulders a little and I got the distinct impression he wasn't very concerned about my predicament. "I'm going to be gone a few days, so I can't speak beyond today. It wouldn't be totally unreasonable for you to stay up there. I mean, you'd be safer. And happier."

"Oh." I frowned a little as I began picking at the strawberries on my tray. "Who are the wives?"

"You'll see."

Change in POV

"What nonsense!" Caius huffed, as he paced back and forth across the throne room. "The nerve those mongrels have, threatening us like this!" he growled, low in his throat in frustration.

"Brother." I tried to soothe, seeing the toll the situation was taking on him. "We must be rational about this. Otherwise, the Romanians win."

"That's just what you want, isn't it?!" He snarled, turning on me. "For us to lie down, to listen to your so-called reason, while they walk all over us. Just you watch, first it'll be this, just a few innocent hunts on the edges of our boarder—then they will be painting the city red! Is that what you want, Marcus? For them to finally us—end you?"

"That is quite enough!" Aro cut in, saving me from having to defend myself against Caius's blind rage. "You know that is the last thing any of us want. Marcus has just as much to lose as us if the Romanians should invade now, if not more, with his Mistress's fragile state. He asks us to be rational because he cares, and he is right to do so. Only by seeing past our anger to reason will we win this fight. The Romanians are over emotional, fixed on getting their revenge. It is a weakness and it is why they will lose, greater numbers or no."

"My apologies, brothers." Caius said, stiffly, as he made his way back to his seat. "You are right. We have the best members of our guard moving into action. It simply... Infuriates me that we have to deal with their insolence again. This was what I feared when we spared Vladimir and Stefan. I feared that our mercy would come back to haunt us."

I sat back in my seat as Caius found his, allowing myself to relax marginally now that he had. I tried to focus on the task at hand, but I couldn't help but think of Evelyn. I knew by now she would be in the tower with Sulpicia, Athenodora, and Corin. A part of me wondered if she would be safer with Aro and Caius's mates, under heavy guard in the highest tower of the castle. But, somehow, it felt wrong to me. I wanted her where she belonged, in her room—our old room. I wanted her to feel what she would, be it happiness or sorrow, outside of Corin's influence. I wanted to give her some modicum of freedom and motility outside of the tower. I felt she deserved as much. After all, I knew too well first hand how miserable it was to be trapped inside these stone walls, though much of my entrapment had been self-imposed.

Change of POV

"Tell us about yourself!" Sulpicia gushed, from her place across the table the three of us sat at. "We're dying to hear." Despite my expectations, Sulpicia and Athenodora was warm, kind, and happy.

The tower was another surprise. It was the exact opposite of what I had expected. The mere mention of a 'tower' had brought back childhood memories of fairy tales, filled with witches, dragons, and spindles. Of course, I should have known from the rest of the castle that his place was different. The tower was pleasant, homey, even, with big open windows and warm beige furnishings.

I shrugged my shoulders, unsurely, as the women across from me looked on in wonderment. "I... I don't exactly know what there is to tell. I'm not very interesting."

"There must be something." Athenodora insisted, leaning forward to rest her elbows on the table. "What do you like to do?"

"Well..." I floundered, for a minute. "I'm alright at drawing, I guess."

Sulpicia grinned at that, exchanging a look with the woman beside her. "Oh, Didyme loved art, didn't she?"

"She did! You look just like her, you know? It's eerie." Athenodora beamed as she reached out, playing with a tendril of my hair. Strangely, I wasn't bothered by the touch, or her sudden closeness, although I entirely expected to be.

"So I've heard." I frowned a little in concentration as I thought back to my beginnings in this castle, when Aro had remarked on my similarity to Didyme. I tried not to think about it, of course. It had been horrible—blood everywhere. Aiden's blood. But, I couldn't help it. So much had happened that day, how could I ever forget it. However, even at the memory of Aiden's death, I still felt resolved and content. Had I really moved on so easily? Was I really suddenly so okay with the death of my only brother? I shook my head a little, setting those questions aside in favor of one I thought the wives might actually be able to answer. "Who was she?"

Athenodora opened her mouth to speak, but Sulpicia stopped her with a hand on her arm. She looked apologetically between both of us as Athenodora bowed her head. "You should really talk to Marcus about that, dear."

I sighed, and Athenodora took that as her signal that it was alright to speak again. "Speaking of Marcus, do you know when he's planning on turning you?"

"What?" I blinked, dumbly, not sure what to think. "Turning me?"

"Oh, Dora, don't get ahead of yourself." Sulpicia laughed, musically. "Marcus is a gentleman, we both know that. I'm sure he's planning on courting her first. That is the proper way to do things, after all."

Athenodora shrugged a little. "I suppose you are so young, anyways. He does have plenty of time before it becomes a worry." Then she sighed, wistfully. "But, you're so human! So delicate! I just know it must be the reason he doesn't keep you here with us. You're such a darling. We would love to have you as company."

Suddenly, both women looked behind me and I turned my head to see whatever it was they were looking at. Marcus stood just inches from the door. He smiled, although there was something off about it as his eyes fell on me. I guess if you speak about the devil, he will appear. I thought, belatedly, although I didn't really consider Marcus to be the devil, per se.

"Come to steal her away from us already?" Athenodora whined, as she reclined back in her chair, pressing a glass of a crimson liquid—something I dearly hoped wasn't blood to her lips.

"I'm afraid so." Marcus replied, a little stiffly. He held out a hand in silent invitation, and I stood to take it. Normally, I don't know how I would have felt about him just expecting me to follow him, but at the moment, I had a lot of questions, and I was beginning to realize he might be the only one willing to give me the answers. "If you'll excuse us."